With schools being open, and people finally going back to their normal lives there has been an alarming increase in the number of cases in Bonneville County from September to October with an average of 61 new cases per day. Bonneville county has the third-highest number of cases in the state of Idaho and Idaho has the sixth-highest amount of cases. 

This spike of Covid-19 cases in Bonneville and other counties in the state has caused Governor Little to push the State of Idaho back into phase 3 lockdown. This means limiting gatherings to groups under 50 people, outdoor gatherings are now limited to 25% capacity, and social distancing will now be more heavily regulated.

But what does this mean for Thunder Ridge? In an Email sent by Principal McLaren, he explained that this order does not mean we have to go into online school and we will continue to have normal school. It does however affect many of the extracurricular activities and events at the school, now there will be an even more limited audience for these activities, with only 50 people allowed to be in the audience. To allow for parents and students to still be able to participate, these school events will be broadcasted. 

Physician Assistant at Ermac and Community Hospital, Tyler Christensen says, to help slow/stop the spread of Covid 19 “Washing your hands, social distancing, avoiding people who are sick even if they aren’t sure if they have Covid, and staying home from work or school if you have any symptoms, like cough runny nose, sore throat, body aches.”