Idaho governor calls in help amid surge in COVID patients

By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little is calling in 220 medical workers available through federal programs and mobilizing 150 Idaho National Guard soldiers to deal with a surge in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients who are overwhelming the state’s hospitals. The Republican governor said Tuesday the moves are a last-ditch effort to avoid activating for the first time statewide crisis standards of care that could force medical professionals to decide who lives and who dies. The last week has seen about 1,000 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases per day, most of them unvaccinated. Little says only four intensive care unit beds were available in the entire state on Tuesday.