Idaho reports multiple COVID-19 deaths for second straight day, adds nearly 500 cases
Boise-based Central District Health announced two new coronavirus-related deaths in Ada County residents on Thursday, while neighboring Southwest District Health confirmed one additional death in Canyon County.
Ada and Twin Falls counties have each lost a state-high 25 residents to COVID-19, and Canyon County’s total stands at 10. The virus has claimed the lives of 101 Idahoans since the start of the pandemic with a case fatality rate of about 1.06%.
Case-specific details on the three latest deaths were not provided, but according to demographic data on the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s website, one of the deceased was in their 60s and one was 80 or older.
The state’s seven health districts combined for a record 495 new confirmed cases on Thursday. It marks the third straight day Idaho has added 400 or more cases. The statewide total has reached 8,856 cases.
Health and Welfare added 26 new “probable cases,” increasing the number to 688 statewide. It reported 3,432 new tests and 3,022 patients presumed to have recovered from the disease.
Ada County led the state once again with 186 new cases — the county’s seventh consecutive day with 100 or more new cases. Canyon County followed with 99 new cases. Ada and Canyon counties have reported a combined 5,000 coronavirus cases, or about 56% of the state’s total.
The 27 other counties adding new confirmed cases Thursday were Bannock (3 new, 131 total), Bingham (4 new, 83 total), Blaine (1 new, 533 total), Bonner (13 new, 57 total), Bonneville (4 new, 132 total), Boundary (1 new, 2 total), Cassia (8 new, 267 total), Elmore (1 new, 79 total), Fremont (2 new, 9 total), Gem (2 new, 39 total), Gooding (6 new, 67 total), Jefferson (1 new, 16 total), Jerome (10 new, 245 total), Kootenai (81 new, 595 total), Latah (2 new, 29 total), Lemhi (1 new, 3 total), Lincoln (2 new, 36 total), Minidoka (8 new, 219 total), Nez Perce (2 new, 95 total), Oneida (1 new, 6 total), Owyhee (6 new, 60 total), Payette (5 new, 133 total), Power (1 new, 19 total), Shoshone (2 new, 8 total), Teton (7 new, 20 total), Twin Falls (31 new, 685 total) and Washington (5 new, 120 total).
Earlier in the day, Gov. Brad Little announced that Idaho failed to meet the criteria to exit Stage 4 of the Idaho Rebounds plan for a second time and will stay in Stage 4 for at least two more weeks.
Panhandle endures record rise in cases
The Panhandle Health District reported a record 97 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, including single-day highs of 81 new cases in Kootenai County and 13 in Bonner County.
PHD, which serves the counties of Bonner, Boundary, Benewah, Kootenai and Shoshone, said if necessary it could mandate rules such as masking or a rollback of the district’s current status in Stage 4 of the Idaho Rebounds plan.
“This increase in case numbers will significantly increase COVID-19 illness in our community and the resulting increased demands on health care, as well as having a negative impact on business activity, personal interactions and related activities,” the PHD board stated in a press release. “There is also the potential for the increased infections to overwhelm our regional health care capacity.”
McCall area sees increase in positive cases
St. Luke’s McCall and Cascade Medical Center have conducted a combined 887 COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began, according to The Star-News in McCall.
Of those tests, 37 have come back positive, including 30 since June 11. But according to Central District Health, only 23 positive tests can be attributed to Valley County residents in McCall, Cascade, Donnelly, Yellow Pine or Smiths Ferry.
“Some of those who tested positive but did not declare Valley County their primary residence could still be in Valley County under quarantine,” spokespersons for both hospitals told The Star-News.
Central District Health told The Star-News that residents and visitors should be aware that “community transmission is actively occurring in Valley County.”
DAILY DETAILS
Hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports there have been 432 hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, 137 admissions to the ICU and 678 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 117,390 tests had been completed statewide. About 7.5% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 3,431, Adams 11, Bannock 131, Bear Lake 2, Benewah 15, Bingham 83, Blaine 533, Boise 7, Bonner 57, Bonneville 132, Boundary 2, Camas 1, Canyon 1,569, Caribou 19, Cassia 267, Clearwater 4, Custer 5, Elmore 79, Franklin 29, Fremont 9, Gem 39, Gooding 67, Idaho 11, Jefferson 16, Jerome 245, Kootenai 595, Latah 29, Lemhi 3, Lincoln 36, Madison 34, Minidoka 219, Nez Perce 95, Oneida 6, Owyhee 60, Payette 133, Power 19, Shoshone 8, Teton 27, Twin Falls 685, Valley 23 and Washington 120.
Counties with community spread: Ada, Bannock, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Fremont, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Latah, Lemhi, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Nez Perce, Oneida, Owyhee, Payette, Power, Teton, Twin Falls, Valley and Washington.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 5:25 PM.
