Coronavirus: COVID cases rising in North-Central Idaho, task force announces funding
Gov. Brad Little’s coronavirus financial advisory task force allotted funding to multiple agencies on Friday, including the Idaho Foodbank and the Idaho Department of Juvenile Correction.
The Idaho Foodbank will receive $2.56 million to support families who are food insecure. The funding will support the food bank’s 400-plus partner organizations in all 44 counties.
Idaho’s long-term care facilities will receive an additional $10 million to help fund the costs in keeping residents and workers as safe as possible during the pandemic, according to the governor’s office.
Of that $10 million, $7 million will be used to cover increased costs related to caring for residents who have tested positive for COVID-19. Another $2 million will pay for COVID-exclusive facilities, wings or units to care for COVID-positive residents in order to protect healthy residents and workers. The final $1 million will be used to pay for the cost of transporting residents to and from COVID-exclusive facilities.
That money is on top of the $13 million already provided to long-term care facilities.
The task force also approved $2.57 million to protect juveniles in the state’s custody at the Juvenile Corrections Center in St. Anthony. The funds will be used to replace a 24-bed dormitory-style living unit to allow for better physical distancing and quarantine protocols to be implemented.
IDJC hopes to build a single-bed living unit configuration to be more able to implement quarantine and isolation protocols if needed.
Nez Perce Reservation sees more cases
Nimiipuu Health says that coronavirus cases are on the rise for the Nez Perce Reservation, as nine positive tests have been reported in the past two days, according to a news release.
Two of those recent tests have been from residents in Kamiah, the largest town in Lewis County. Lewis was the last of Idaho’s 44 counties to report a coronavirus case, which happened on Wednesday. The first case in the county involved a person in their 80s who was last said to be recovering at home, according to Idaho North Central District health. On Thursday, three additional cases were reported in Lewis County.
Nimiipuu Health also says the coronavirus has directly affected its available services, as multiple departments within the organization have shut down due to insufficient staffing. As of Friday, 26 Nimiipuu Health staff members have had to be in isolation or quarantine because of the coronavirus.
Despite the reduced staff, the health group says it will continue to test for the coronavirus at its clinics. However, Nimiipuu Health said it has reverted to emergency services by appointment only until further notice.
To schedule a time for care at either of Nimiipuu Health’s two clinics, call (208) 843-2271 for the Lapwai clinic, or call (208) 935-0733 for the Kamiah clinic. In cases of emergency, dial 911.
Ada County reports 5 new coronavirus deaths Thursday
On a day where 464 new COVID-19 cases were reported across Idaho, the state’s most populous county accounted for 142 of those cases. Ada County was the site of over 30% of Idaho’s cases Thursday, and the county reported five coronavirus-related deaths as well.
Central District Health’s report brought Ada County’s death total to 90. Earlier this week, the health district voted to limit social gatherings to no more than 10 people, in addition to a mask mandate that has been in effect for weeks.
Idaho now has 256 reported deaths in connection with the coronavirus. The state now has 24,906 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Thursday.
Ada’s 142 new reported cases on Thursday bring the county’s total case count to 9,002. Canyon County saw a slight decrease in its daily case count Thursday, reporting 69 new cases. Its total is now 5,816.
Double-digit new cases were reported in counties around Idaho on Thursday, including Bannock (16), Bingham (13), Cassia (10), Minidoka (14), Jerome (10), Kootenai (23), Shoshone (29), Bonneville (24) and Jefferson (18).
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported 33 new “probable cases” of the virus, bringing the total to 1,748 as of Thursday. IDHW also reports that 10,089 people have recovered from the coronavirus. Of the 216,437 coronavirus tests conducted in Idaho since the pandemic began, around 11.5% of tests have returned positive, according to IDHW. State health officials reported Thursday that 45 more health care workers were infected with the virus, bringing Idaho’s total up to 1,584.
Coronavirus cases have been found in all of Idaho’s 44 counties: Ada 9,002, Adams 20, Bannock 456, Bear Lake 27, Benewah 70, Bingham 324, Blaine 567, Boise 39, Bonner 183, Bonneville 994, Boundary 39, Butte 1, Camas 1, Canyon 5,816, Caribou 32, Cassia 494, Clark 10, Clearwater 16, Custer 11, Elmore 210, Franklin 46, Fremont 80, Gem 167, Gooding 157, Idaho 32, Jefferson 200, Jerome 454, Kootenai 1,916, Latah 116, Lemhi 32, Lewis 4, Lincoln 54, Madison 143, Minidoka 471, Nez Perce 151, Oneida 13, Owyhee 246, Payette 385, Power 68, Shoshone 158, Teton 80, Twin Falls 1,345, Valley 66 and Washington 210.
Community spread has been detected in the majority of Idaho’s counties: 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.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 9:54 AM.
