Idaho’s Blaine County has more coronavirus cases per capita than Italy and New York City
By Friday afternoon, Blaine County had reported 405 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus infection. It’s the most cases of any Idaho county, and numbers show that, per capita, it’s also one of the highest rates of infection in the world.
Home to popular tourist destinations, Blaine County emerged as a coronavirus hot spot in Idaho early, likely due to its regular influx of visitors, outdoor recreation enthusiasts and owners of second homes from across the country. In the weeks since Idaho’s first confirmed case, Blaine County’s outbreak has made headlines across the country, from USA Today to The Washington Post.
[Related: What made Blaine County Idaho’s coronavirus hot spot? Wealthy visitors and recreation]
The county is home to about 23,000 people, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Taking Thursday’s total of 312 COVID-19 cases, Blaine County had an infection rate of roughly 141 people testing positive for every 10,000 residents. Now it’s even higher.
That rate blows other Idaho areas — as well as the statewide infection rate — out of the water. In Ada County, Idaho’s second-hardest hit county, the infection rate is about five positive coronavirus cases for every 10,000 residents. Statewide, the infection rate is about four COVID-19 diagnoses per 10,000 residents.
That’s despite Idaho’s anemic testing rates in comparison to other Western states. (The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said officials are not able to track testing numbers on the county level, so it’s unclear whether Blaine County is testing at a higher rate than other counties.)
Blaine County’s infection rate even outstrips other spots around the world that have been walloped by the disease. King County, Washington, which is home to Seattle, has weathered an intense coronavirus outbreak. Its infection rate is only 11 positive cases per 10,000 residents. New York City, which has a population of 8.6 million people, recorded nearly 52,000 COVID-19 diagnoses by Thursday. That’s still only 60 COVID-19 cases per 10,000 residents.
And the entire country of Italy (population: 60.48 million), which has been devastated by the coronavirus, had about 19 cases per 10,000 residents, according to Thursday data.
A study by researchers at the University of Chicago’s Center for Spatial Data Science showed several other rural areas in the U.S. are also facing the same high infection rates as Blaine County. In the Western U.S., they include Summit County, Utah; Eagle and Gunnison counties in Colorado; and Jefferson County, Montana.
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 4:33 PM.
