All 60 of Idaho’s coronavirus-related deaths have had one thing in common — age
The coronavirus has been particularly deadly for Idaho’s elderly population, with 58 of the 60 reported deaths occurring in individuals 60 or older.
Cases of COVID-19 have resulted in the deaths of 38 Idahoans over the age of 80 (63.3% of the state’s total) and claimed another 12 lives of patients in their 70s and eight in their 60s. The remaining two deaths occurred in patients in their 50s, according to information collected by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
People over 60 account for 96.7% of Idaho’s deaths.
During an April 30 press conference, IDHW Director Dave Jeppesen said of Idaho’s 60 coronavirus deaths, “about 29” have been residents of long-term care facilities. There are “about 12” such facilities with active cases, and “about 176” staff or patients have tested positive across 18 facilities, he said.
“This remains an incredible focus of ours,” Jeppesen said. “Those facilities are very committed to doing everything possible to both prevent the spread and protect those that have become infected.”
Idaho doesn’t release data on preexisting conditions for deaths, however, Jeppesen said a “vast majority” of Idaho’s coronavirus deaths have had “some type of underlying or health-compromised condition.”
Deaths are heavily concentrated in the oldest age groups across the West, too.
People 80 or older account for 53% of the deaths in Washington, 48.5% of the deaths in Oregon and 52.8% of the deaths in Colorado. That’s a total of about 826 deaths of people over the age of 80 — or 52.6% of the deaths in those three states.
The percentages get much higher at 60-plus — 91% in Washington, 93.9% in Oregon and 91% in Colorado.
California and Arizona categorize their deaths in broader age groups. California reports that 77.6% of its deaths occurred in people who were 65 or older, and Arizona reports that 76.1% were 65 or older.
The other five Western states don’t have age breakdowns on their coronavirus-tracking websites.
Case fatality rates in the West ranged from 1% in Utah to 5.6% in Washington through Monday. Idaho’s is about 3.1%.
IDHW also has gathered race and ethnicity data for the majority of Idaho’s coronavirus-related deaths. Out of the 57 deaths with race information, 94.7% have been white (54 cases), 3.5% Asian/Pacific Islander (2 cases) and 1.8% black (1 case). For the 58 patients with known ethnicity, 94.8% have been Non-Hispanic (55 cases) and 5.2% Hispanic (3 cases).
By gender, 33 fatalities have been male and 27 female.
Nine of Idaho’s 44 counties have reported at least one death due to the coronavirus: Ada (16), Blaine (5), Canyon (6), Cassia (1), Elmore (2), Jerome (2), Nez Perce (16), Payette (1) and Twin Falls (11).
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
