Idaho coronavirus cases spike again, climbing to a high not seen in seven weeks
Idaho kept the number of new coronavirus cases in the teens, 20s or 30s for the past four weeks. But the state saw a spike Friday with 98 new cases.
That is the most cases in a single day since April 4, when Idaho had 90 or more cases six days in a row.
Friday is tied for the fifth-most cases in a single day since the virus made its first appearance in Idaho.
The Twin Falls-based South Central Public Health District saw 91 of the 98 cases Friday, continuing its recent increase. Twin Falls County led the way with 32 news cases, followed by Jerome (23), Cassia (18), Minidoka (11), Gooding (six) and Lincoln (one) counties.
Many recent cases in the region appear to come from Rite Stuff Foods. The Jerome plant makes specialty potato products and had at least 50 employees test positive as of Friday, the Idaho Statesman reported.
“We are in an area where agriculture is the dominant industry and food processing plants are a huge part of that,” said Logan Hudson, administrator for South Central Public Health District, in a news release. “The nature of some of these jobs require people to work closely together, making social distancing difficult. Respiratory viruses, like COVID-19, are in the perfect environment to spread rapidly.”
South Central urged companies to remain flexible with leave policies and for sick employees to stay home. It added investigators are seeing more resistance in the community and reminded residents to take the disease seriously.
Twin Falls County also saw two more coronavirus-related deaths Friday, including a woman in her 70s and a woman in her 80s, according to data posted by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. That pushes the state’s death total to 79. Twin Falls has accounted for eight deaths in the past eight days.
Ada County reported three new confirmed cases Friday, bringing its state-leading total to 742. Bannock (two), Canyon (one) and Latah (one) also reported new cases.
STAY SAFE DURING MEMORIAL DAY
Idaho asked its residents to use caution during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.
Recreate Responsibly Idaho reminded residents to keep 6 feet from people outside their household and observe social distancing while using trails, parks, greenbelts, beaches or anywhere people gather.
It listed Lucky Peak State Park near Boise as a potential trouble spot as the weather warms up, noting visitors ignored safety guidelines there in recent weeks.
“It was like the pandemic never happened,” park manager Surat Nicol said in a news release.
Recreate Responsibly Idaho is a collective effort between the governor’s office and several state, federal and private recreation organizations, including Fish and Game, Idaho Power, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.
DAILY DETAILS
Hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 225 hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, 94 admissions to the ICU and 298 health care workers who have been infected. The hospital and health care numbers are based on cases with completed investigations into contacts, not the full number of positives.
Testing totals: At the end of the day Friday, Health and Welfare reported that 40,370 tests had been completed statewide. About 5.95% have been positive for COVID-19. According to IDHW, the state conducted its second-most tests last week with 5,207. That trails only March 29-April 4, when the state conducted 5,582.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 742, Adams 3, Bannock 14, Bingham 6, Blaine 499, Bonner 4, Bonneville 18, Camas 1, Canyon 264, Caribou 1, Cassia 38, Custer 2, Elmore 30, Fremont 2, Gem 13, Gooding 32, Idaho 3, Jefferson 5, Jerome 117, Kootenai 66, Latah 6, Lemhi 1, Lincoln 28, Madison 12, Minidoka 32, Nez Perce 72, Owyhee 9, Payette 19, Power 3, Teton 10, Twin Falls 318, Valley 2 and Washington 31.
Counties with community spread: Ada, Bannock, Bingham, Blaine, Bonneville, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Owyhee, Madison, Minidoka, Payette, Teton and Twin Falls.
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 7:10 PM.
