Another day, another record coronavirus count for Idaho as confirmed cases surpass 12,000
For the fifth time in the past eight days, Idaho established a single-day record for new confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The state’s seven health districts reported a combined 651 cases on Thursday, breaking the record set the day before, when the count was 585 cases. Three new coronavirus-related deaths also were announced, increasing the state’s total to 114 since the start of the pandemic.
Since July 1, 21 Idahoans have lost their lives to the virus. The case fatality rate stands at 0.86%.
Central District Health announced the first coronavirus death of a Valley County resident on Thursday. The individual was a male in his 80s. The other two deaths were residents of Ada and Canyon counties, but no details were provided.
Canyon County has been hit particularly hard this month by the coronavirus. The county has added 10 deaths since July 8 and seen an increase in its caseload by about 221% since July 1. Canyon announced 171 new confirmed cases on Thursday to push its total to 2,628, the second-most in the state.
Boise County, which includes Idaho City, Horseshoe Bend and Banks, became the 36th county in the state with confirmed community spread, according to a Central District Health press release. Boise County saw its first case on June 25 and its total is now 13 cases.
“Many of us regularly enjoy the great amenities that our rural counties have to offer, especially this time of year, but we need to do all that we can to protect those counties where immediate access to health care is much more limited than it is in our larger counties,” Central District Health Director Russ Duke said in a press release.
“We urge anyone visiting neighboring counties, for recreation or otherwise, to do the responsible thing and wear face coverings when they’re in public places and keep physical distance to protect our fellow Idahoans.”
In the northernmost part of the state, the Panhandle Health District set a single-day high for new coronavirus cases for the second time in a week. PDH reported 107 new confirmed and probable cases. Kootenai County accounted for 83 of those cases, breaking its previous record of 81, set on July 9. PDH says there are 11 people in its district hospitalized with COVID-19.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare updated its most recent testing data for the week of July 5-11. During that span, there were 16,821 tests completed, with a positive percentage of 14.5% — the state’s highest rate since the pandemic began. The previous high for a positive-test rate was 11.3%, set June 28-July 4.
Ada County added 262 cases Thursday, according to IDHW, marking the 14th consecutive day the county has reported 100 or more confirmed cases.
The other counties with new cases were Adams (1 new, 12 total), Bannock (11 new, 175 total), Bear Lake (1 new, 6 total), Benewah (5 new, 27 total), Bingham (5 new, 110 total), Boise (2 new, 13 total), Bonneville (14 new, 189 total), Boundary (1 new, 9 total), Caribou (2 new, 22 total), Cassia (3 new, 303 total), Clearwater (1 new, 6 total), Elmore (4 new, 109 total), Gem (10 new, 78 total), Gooding (1 new, 79 total), Idaho (1 new, 14 total), Jefferson (2 new, 30 total), Jerome (12 new, 294 total), Madison (2 new, 65 total), Minidoka (3 new, 255 total), Owyhee (11 new, 106 total), Payette (9 new, 199 total), Power (1 new, 20 total), Shoshone (5 new, 19 total), Teton (1 new, 36 total), Twin Falls (23 new, 782 total), Valley (3 new, 31 total) and Washington (3 new, 129 total).
The Panhandle Health District removed two cases from Bonner County, decreasing its total to 85.
According to Health and Welfare, there are 838 probable cases across the state and 3,676 patients are presumed to have recovered. The state also reported 3,426 new COVID-19 tests on Thursday.
DAILY DETAILS
Hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 554 hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, 165 admissions to the ICU and 823 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 139,481 tests had been completed statewide. About 8.9% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 4,864, Adams 12, Bannock 175, Bear Lake 6, Benewah 27, Bingham 110, Blaine 540, Boise 13, Bonner 85, Bonneville 189, Boundary 9, Camas 1, Canyon 2,628, Caribou 22, Cassia 303, Clearwater 6, Custer 6, Elmore 109, Franklin 30, Fremont 13, Gem 78, Gooding 79, Idaho 14, Jefferson 30, Jerome 294, Kootenai 895, Latah 33, Lemhi 4, Lincoln 37, Madison 65, Minidoka 255, Nez Perce 102, Oneida 8, Owyhee 106, Payette 199, Power 20, Shoshone 19, Teton 36, Twin Falls 782, Valley 31 and Washington 129.
Counties with community spread: Ada, Bannock, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Boise, 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 16, 2020 at 6:49 PM.
