VICTOR, Ida. — Victor Mayor Will Frohlich released an impassioned letter on Nov. 12 urging the community to slow down the spread of COVID-19.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a total of 416 positive cases. Frohlich wrote, “We continue and will continue to shatter case counts, hospitalizations and deaths if we do not act immediately.” Two people from Teton County have died of the virus.
In the letter, Mayor Frohlich urged community members to follow guidelines from accredited medical experts. “In an ideal scenario, local governments would be handed a plan and guided on how to implement it. It would be enforced if not followed. Instead, we have been told it is up to us, we are on our own. Small local governments such as ours here in Teton Valley Idaho, work extremely hard to operate efficiently without a global pandemic, let alone creating the playbook for how to mitigate one. We are not experts in infectious disease, instead, we need to listen to those who are.”
He went on to write, “We are now at the tipping point. What that exactly looks like, no one knows. We will continue to fight and implement additional mitigation measures that we think are necessary. Knowing that our local law enforcement and health district have chosen to remain in a reactive state at this time. We have run out of options and time to convince those in our community that this is in fact, a very serious situation. An extreme sense of urgency now exists.”
In Teton County, Idaho, coronavirus is spreading at rapid rates, with 52.7 active cases per 10,000 people. The county is categorized at critical risk level, red and the school district is moving to virtual learning beginning Monday, Nov. 16. “No one is perfect, it doesn’t take perfection to get this under control, it takes responsibility and individual choice,” wrote Mayor Frohlich.
As of Nov. 11, there are 64 active cases in Teton County, Idaho. Teton Valley Health says 1 in 4 COVID-19 tests are positive.
“We can either choose to slow this down or shut down. There is no in-between.” wrote Mayor Frohlich.
