VIDEO: There is despair now, in Idaho's hospital hallways and ICU wards and waiting rooms and morgues.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, medical staff watched people pull together, staying home, wearing a mask, and fighting as one to defeat the spread of the virus.
There was hope, then, that Idaho might avoid the worst outcome: An infection rate so high and hospitals so overwhelmed by COVID-19 that doctors would be asked to make grueling choices about which of their patients will live and which will not.
That hope ended Thursday.
Following a request from St. Luke's Health System, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced the expansion of crisis standards of care to the entire state, beginning the process by which medical staff, equipment, and hospital beds may now be rationed for those who are most likely to survive.