Canyon County reports community spread of coronavirus; Ada numbers climb again
Canyon County has joined Ada and Blaine counties with known community spread of the coronavirus, Southwest District Health announced Friday.
Blaine County, which leads the state with 98 confirmed coronavirus cases, was the first county in Idaho to report community spread on March 19. Ada County was added to the list Tuesday, prompting a statewide stay-home order from Gov. Brad Little.
“Community transmission, or community spread, is when public health professionals cannot specify an origin for an infection, such as tracing it to specific travel or contact with a specific individual,” according to a SWDH press release.
The Panhandle Health District reported possible community spread in Kootenai County on Wednesday, but that case is still under investigation, according to Katherine Hoyer, a public information officer for PHD.
Ada County’s positive tests for the coronavirus grew from 54 on Thursday to 76 as of 5 p.m. Friday. The state’s total number of cases hit 232, as reported by the health districts.
Southwest District Health, which serves Adams, Canyon, Gem, Owyhee, Payette and Washington counties, had 22 confirmed cases in Canyon County, one in Payette County and one in Gem County as of Friday night.
The first confirmed case in Gem County, which includes Emmett, is a male in his 20s, SWDH said. The individual has “mild symptoms” and is recovering at home. The source of his transmission is still under investigation, SWDH said, although the individual had no known contact with other confirmed cases.
“We know people are concerned during these times,” SWDH Director Nikki Zogg said in a press release. “We will get through this by working together to address the immediate needs of Gem County.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy our case numbers might differ from the state's
The Idaho Statesman is tabulating confirmed coronavirus cases from Idaho’s seven health districts as they’re reported. The health districts report cases on their own schedules — some issue press releases, some simply update totals on their websites. And the reports happen at various times throughout the day.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, meanwhile, updates its statewide numbers once a day at about 5 p.m. Its numbers only include the cases the health districts have reported directly to the department. In some cases, health districts have reported cases publicly but not to the department by the daily deadline.
We break out each day’s new cases by county and provide details on each case when available here.
Lincoln County, which is part of the South Central Public Health District, confirmed its first positive case of the virus Friday evening. The individual is a male over the age of 70 who has been hospitalized, according to the SCPHD, and the source of transmission is still under investigation.
Bonneville County also confirmed its first case Friday, according to Eastern Idaho Public Health. The patient is a male over the age of 60 who had recently returned from traveling out of the country. He was hospitalized, but has since been discharged and is recovering at home, EIPH said.
Earlier Friday, Idaho North Central District announced that a resident of Nez Perce County died from the coronavirus. It is the fourth confirmed death in Idaho due to the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. Two Blaine County residents and one Canyon County resident — all men over the age of 60 — previously died in connection with COVID-19.
Cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in 20 of Idaho’s 44 counties: Ada, Bannock, Bingham, Blaine, Bonneville, Canyon, Cassia, Custer, Fremont, Gem, Idaho, Jefferson, Kootenai, Lincoln, Madison, Nez Perce, Payette, Teton, Twin Falls and Valley counties.
The other Idaho health districts reporting case increases Friday were Kootenai County going from 10 to 11 cases in District 1, and Bannock County increasing its total by one to three cases in District 6. Numbers for District 2 remained unchanged with five cases.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported 3,572 tests had been completed statewide at the end of the day Friday. About 6.5% have been positive for COVID-19. Of the Idahoans who have tested positive, 50% are from age 18 to 49, and 48.3% are 50 or older. IDHW also reports that 53% of the patients have been female. IDHW has condition information for 144 cases, with 17.4% requiring hospitalization.
IDHW announced a toll-free number for Idahoans to call with questions about COVID-19 or the stay-home order. It will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, beginning Monday. The number is 1-888-330-3010.
This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 4:08 PM.
