UPDATE: Idaho Legislature shuts down due to COVID-19 outbreak
Published at | Updated at
Keith Ridler, Associated Press
UPDATE:
The Legislature has shut down in response to the outbreak. Click here for the latest information.
ORIGINAL STORY:
BOISE (AP) — The Idaho Legislature will consider shutting down for several weeks due to an outbreak of COVID-19, a top Republican said Friday.
Republican House Majority Leader Mike Moyle said that the House will vote on recessing until April 6 when it convenes Friday morning.
At least five of the 70 House members have contracted the illness in the last week, and there are fears a highly contagious variant of COVID-19 is in the Statehouse.
“The House has had several positive tests, so it is probably prudent that the House take a step back for a couple weeks until things calm down and it’s not hot around here for COVID,” he said.
He said the House was waiting to see how the 35-member Senate reacted. Two senators contracted COVID-19 but have recovered and returned to the Senate.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon said the Senate hadn’t decided how it would react.
“The Senate has not yet been able to caucus to meet to discuss this,” Anthon said. “We would want to be courteous to our colleagues in the House of Representatives. This is what’s playing out this morning.”