More than 50 Idahoans have died from COVID-19 in August; only one county without a case
Idaho has lost 55 residents to COVID-19 — an average of five deaths per day — during the first 11 days of August.
There were nine new coronavirus-related deaths announced Tuesday, increasing the state’s total to 248 deaths since the start of the pandemic. The case fatality rate is about 0.97%.
A man in his 60s who had been hospitalized with complications from COVID-19 became the first Benewah County resident to die from the virus, the Panhandle Health District announced Tuesday.
“(Benewah Community Hospital) is saddened to hear that one of our community members has passed away from COVID-19,” said Chuck Lloyd, CEO of Benewah Community Hospital, in a press release. “BCH had the honor of caring for this community member for a short period of time before they were transferred to a higher level of care. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.”
The other counties reporting new deaths Tuesday were Canyon (3 new, 51 total), Ada (2 new, 85 total), Kootenai (2 new, 18 total) and Payette (1 new, 3 total). The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare updated demographic information on its website for seven of the new deaths. Four of the individuals were 80 or older, one was in their 70s and two were in their 60s.
A female over the age of 50 became the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Butte County, according to Southeastern Idaho Public Health. Butte became the 43rd of 44 counties in Idaho with at least one confirmed case of the virus. Lewis County has yet to announce a case.
The state’s seven public health districts reported a combined 413 new confirmed cases Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 23,999 cases. Of the people infected, Health and Welfare estimates that 9,548 have recovered. The state also reported 1,645 probable cases (70 new).
The counties adding new confirmed cases Tuesday were Ada (157 new, 8,757 total), Adams (1 new, 19 total), Bannock (22 new, 424 total), Benewah (5 new, 63 total), Bingham (22 new, 297 total), Blaine (1 new, 563 total), Bonner (1 new, 177 total), Bonneville (30 new, 912 total), Butte (1 new, 1 total), Canyon (52 new, 5,657 total), Caribou (2 new, 31 total), Cassia (4 new, 485 total), Clark (2 new, 10 total), Elmore (2 new, 206 total), Franklin (1 new, 46 total), Jefferson (5 new, 177 total), Jerome (1 new, 432 total), Kootenai (47 new, 1,837 total), Latah (5 new, 102 total), Lemhi (2 new, 26 total), Minidoka (4 new, 451 total), Payette (9 new, 369 total), Power (4 new, 64 total), Shoshone (25 new, 121 total), Twin Falls (5 new, 1,302 total), Valley (4 new, 61 total) and Washington (5 new, 203 total).
Eastern Idaho Public Health removed confirmed cases from the following counties: Fremont (-2, 74 total), Madison (-3, 135 total) and Teton (-1, 75 total). The Idaho Statesman used Health and Welfare numbers for EIPH on Monday, but we updated our numbers Tuesday to align with the health district.
DAILY DETAILS
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 1,037 hospitalizations because of the coronavirus, 289 admissions to the ICU and 1,503 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.
St. Luke’s Health System: As of Aug. 10, the hospital was reporting a 14-day coronavirus testing positivity rate of 10%, with 61 patients currently hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 out of 475 patients overall.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of Aug. 10, the hospital was reporting a 14-day coronavirus testing positivity rate of 22.32%, with 47 patients currently hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 out of 400 patients overall.
Testing totals: At the end of the day Tuesday, Health and Welfare reported that 210,599 tests had been completed statewide. About 11.4% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 8,757, Adams 19, Bannock 424, Bear Lake 23, Benewah 63, Bingham 297, Blaine 563, Boise 40, Bonner 177, Bonneville 912, Boundary 37, Butte 1, Camas 1, Canyon 5,657, Caribou 31, Cassia 485, Clark 10, Clearwater 16, Custer 10, Elmore 206, Franklin 46, Fremont 74, Gem 162, Gooding 152, Idaho 31, Jefferson 177, Jerome 432, Kootenai 1,837, Latah 102, Lemhi 26, Lincoln 53, Madison 135, Minidoka 451, Nez Perce 144, Oneida 12, Owyhee 241, Payette 369, Power 64, Shoshone 121, Teton 75, Twin Falls 1,302, Valley 61 and Washington 203.
Counties with community spread: Ada, Bannock, Bear Lake, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Boise, Bonner, Bonneville, Boundary, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Clark, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Fremont, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Latah, Lemhi, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Nez Perce, Oneida, Owyhee, Payette, Power, Shoshone, Teton, Twin Falls, Valley and Washington.
