Differing reports on Ada County coronavirus numbers leave Idaho hovering near 1,000 cases
A day after reporting its largest single-day increase of confirmed coronavirus cases, Idaho enjoyed at least a 24-hour dip.
With all seven of the state’s health districts reporting updates Friday night, there were 114 new cases in the past 24 hours, for a statewide total of 984. The largest single-day increase since Idaho announced its first case of coronavirus on March 13 was 205 on Thursday.
Central District Health, which includes Ada County, told the Idaho Statesman on Friday night that its system shows 322 confirmed cases there, while the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare puts Ada’s number at 351. Taking the state’s figure for Ada would mean 143 new cases Friday and 1,013 overall.
CDH said it was investigating the discrepancy.
Blaine County remains Idaho’s hot spot, checking in with 405 cases, an increase of 54 since Thursday, according to South Central Public Health District. The other county to report a double-digit increase Friday was Canyon, which grew from 77 cases to 89, according to Southwest District Health.
Earlier Friday, South Central Public Health confirmed that a woman in Twin Falls County died as a result of complications from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The woman was over the age of 70, was hospitalized and had complicating health factors, according to an SCPH press release.
Health officials have reported 10 deaths in the state connected to COVID-19 in six counties: Ada, Canyon, Blaine, Cassia, Nez Perce and Twin Falls.
Meanwhile, Idaho Rep. Laurie Lickley, R-Jerome, announced Friday on Twitter that her 23-year-old son, Cole Lickley, tested positive for the virus.
“Yes, it can happen to you. Thank you to (Gov. Brad Little) and his team for taking (COVID-19) seriously from the start,” Laurie wrote on Twitter.
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.
Cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in 30 of Idaho’s 44 counties: Ada, Adams, Bannock, Bingham, Blaine, Bonner, Bonneville, Camas, Canyon, Cassia, Custer, Elmore, Fremont, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Latah, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Nez Perce, Owyhee, Payette, Teton, Twin Falls, Valley and Washington.
Idaho has confirmed community spread in 12 counties: Ada, Bingham, Blaine, Bonneville, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Jefferson, Kootenai, Madison, Teton and Twin Falls.
Health and Welfare reported 8,870 tests had been completed statewide at the end of the day Friday. About 11.1% have been positive for COVID-19. Idaho’s positive testing percentage has increased from 6.3% to 11.1% since March 28.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 7:11 PM.
