Idaho reports record number of new coronavirus cases; Ada County tops 100 again
Note: The Idaho Statesman originally reported a record 232 cases, but the Panhandle Health District added the first case in Boundary County on Thursday evening, increasing the total to 233.
The Gem State marked an unpleasant milestone Thursday in the fight against the coronavirus.
Idaho health districts reported a single-day record of 233 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. It is the third time this week the state has added more than 200 cases. There were 214 cases announced Wednesday and 221 on Monday.
Ada County led the way once again with 112 new cases, which is the county’s second-most in a single day. The state’s most populous county now has 1,492 cases, according to Central District Health.
Canyon County was one case shy of matching its single-day record — set Wednesday — with 53 new cases on Thursday. Canyon County increased its case count to 542, overtaking Blaine County for the second-most cases in the state, according to Southwest District Health.
Central District Health confirmed the first positive case of COVID-19 in Boise County, which includes the cities of Horseshoe Bend, Idaho City, Robie Creek and Banks. The individual is a male in his 30s who is experiencing “mild symptoms,” according to CDH. The investigation into the source of exposure is still ongoing.
Boundary County also reported its first confirmed case when a female in her 20s contracted the virus while traveling, according to a Panhandle Health District press release. The individual was tested while traveling out of state and remains out of state, PHD said. She was not infectious while in Boundary County.
With the addition of Boise and Boundary counties, at least one case of the coronavirus has been reported in 37 of Idaho’s 44 counties.
Meanwhile, Custer County and Valley County became the 27th and 28th counties with community spread of the virus. Both are popular summer destinations for Treasure Valley residents.
One of the three Valley County cases announced this week has required hospitalization, CDH said in a press release.
“Valley County sees a considerable amount of tourism with people coming to enjoy our communities. We want to urge both members of our community and those visiting to protect one another,” said Elt Hasbrouck, Valley County commissioner and CDH Board of Health member, in the press release. “Wear face coverings in public and practice physical distancing. Let’s look out for one another so we don’t see continued spread and potentially harmful impacts to the health of our residents and local economy.”
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.
The other counties reporting new cases were Bannock (1 new, 82 total), Blaine (4 new, 517 total), Bonner (6 new, 24 total), Cassia (8 new, 173 total), Custer (1 new, 4 total), Elmore (1 new, 46 total), Fremont (1 new, 4 total), Gem (1 new, 16 total), Gooding (1 new, 52 total), Jefferson (1 new, 11 total), Kootenai (17 new, 169 total), Latah (1 new, 9 total), Minidoka (5 new, 122 total), Owyhee (5 new, 21 total), Payette (4 new, 52 total), Twin Falls (8 new, 451 total) and Valley (2 new, 6 total). One case was removed from Bonneville County because of a data input error, Eastern Idaho Public Health said.
The state total of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 4,405 since the pandemic began.
There are 499 “probable cases” in the state, an increase of 20 from Wednesday. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports that 3,712 cases are “presumed recovered.”
DAILY DETAILS
Hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 303 hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, 106 admissions to the ICU and 458 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 Thursday, Health and Welfare reported that 81,871 tests had been completed statewide. About 5.4% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 1,492, Adams 9, Bannock 82, Benewah 13, Bingham 31, Blaine 517, Boise 1, Bonner 24, Bonneville 71, Boundary 1, Camas 1, Canyon 542, Caribou 13, Cassia 173, Custer 4, Elmore 46, Franklin 21, Fremont 4, Gem 16, Gooding 52, Idaho 3, Jefferson 11, Jerome 198, Kootenai 169, Latah 9, Lemhi 2, Lincoln 32, Madison 21, Minidoka 122, Nez Perce 79, Owyhee 21, Payette 52, Power 15, Teton 14, Twin Falls 451, Valley 6 and Washington 87.
Counties with community spread: Ada, Bannock, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Custer, Elmore, Gem, Gooding, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Owyhee, Payette, Power, Teton, Twin Falls, Valley and Washington.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 6:27 PM.
