Idaho will stay in the modified version of Stage 2, Gov. Brad Little announced Thursday.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced Thursday morning COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in the month of November and is currently the third-leading cause of death for the full year.
Little said as hospitals are being pushed to their limits, morgues in some Idaho counties are full and relying on trailers to store bodies.
While Little said Idaho will not enact crisis standards of care, the state is close to having to implement the "draconian" measure normally reserved for a natural disaster response.
Idaho has never implemented crisis standards of care and doing so would affect people in Idaho's ability to receive healthcare.
“Crisis standards of care guides decisions about how to allocate scarce resources such as hospital beds, medication or breathing machines," Little said. "If the state of Idaho has to implement crisis standards of care you or someone you love could be turned away from the hospital."
Little continued to urge Idahoans to wear masks, social distance and comply with state and local orders. Little said he believes orders from local officials and schools will be more effective than orders and mandates from a state-level.
"I want to address the people who say COVID-19 is no big deal," Little said. "The hospitals aren't fudging the numbers, they have no incentive to make it seem worse than it is."
Little initially reverted Idaho to a modified Stage 2 and deployed the National Guard to help manage the pandemic on Nov. 13.
Watch the full State COVID-19 update here:
