Idaho’s daily COVID caseload back below 300; Nampa charter school confirms cases
Idaho reported less than 300 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday for the 15th time in the past 16 days.
A day after a spike of 368 cases, the state’s seven health districts combined for 216 new confirmed cases and two new coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, according to data gathered from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and Southeastern Idaho Public Health.
The state’s 7-day moving average of confirmed and probable cases increased to 283.3. It was 242.9 a week ago.
Canyon and Power counties each reported one death. It was the 99th death from the virus in Canyon County but the first for Power County. The Power County death was a man in his 60s, according to Southeastern Idaho Public Health. The Canyon County death was a man in his 70s, according to updated demographics from Health and Welfare.
Idaho has lost 441 residents to the virus with a case fatality rate of about 1.18%.
Ada County’s 7-day moving average of confirmed cases was in the 30s for six days in a row, but it has since climbed to 42.7 cases per day. Ada County’s caseload increased by 38 on Saturday to 11,316 total cases. There were seven other counties with new cases of 10 or more — Bonneville (21 new, 1,988 total), Canyon (20 new, 7,406 total), Kootenai (17 new, 2,449 total), Twin Falls (15 new, 1,805 total), Bannock (15 new, 881 total), Bingham (15 new, 803 total) and Madison (14 new, 370 total).
Power County, which has a population of less than 8,000 people, added nine cases (210 total) on Saturday, and SIPH has moved the county’s COVID-19 health alert level to orange (high). There are currently five individuals from Power County who are hospitalized with the coronavirus, according to the SIPH COVID dashboard.
The other counties with additional confirmed cases on Saturday were Adams (2 new, 27 total), Bear Lake (3 new, 44 total), Blaine (2 new, 603 total), Boise (1 new, 52 total), Bonner (4 new, 269 total), Butte (1 new, 27 total), Camas (1 new, 16 total), Caribou (3 new, 84 total), Cassia (3 new, 574 total), Custer (4 new, 50 total), Elmore (1 new, 254 total), Franklin (7 new, 84 total), Fremont (5 new, 141 total), Gem (1 new, 244 total), Gooding (1 new, 223 total), Idaho (1 new, 85 total), Jefferson (9 new, 399 total), Jerome (1 new, 633 total), Lemhi (1 new, 55 total), Lewis (1 new, 12 total), Nez Perce (2 new, 361 total) and Payette (1 new, 711 total).
Health and Welfare removed one case from Washington County (306 total) and two cases from Minidoka County (574 total). Cases are sometimes removed when a contact-tracing investigation determines an individual is a permanent resident of a different county or state.
Since the start of the pandemic, 34,387 Idahoans have tested positive for the coronavirus. Health and Welfare reported 3,098 “probable” cases (40 new). IDHW estimates that of those infected, 20,105 people are presumed recovered.
Nampa charter school confirms COVID cases
Legacy Charter School in Nampa has had three cases of COVID-19 since school started Aug. 10, the Idaho Statesman learned through a public records request.
It is unclear whether the individuals infected were students or staff members. All three individuals are no longer in quarantine, the school said.
“In each case, (Southwest District Health) was contacted immediately to ensure we worked in concert with its recommended protocols,” according to an email from the school.
DAILY DETAILS
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 1,711 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, 442 admissions to the ICU and 2,562 health care workers infected. 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 Sept. 18, the health system was reporting 31 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 420 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 7%.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of Sept. 18, the health system was reporting 24 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 374 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 8.9%.
Boise School District: The district says the following schools have reported confirmed COVID-19 cases among students or staff since Aug. 17: Adams Elementary (2 cases), Boise Online School (1), Borah High (4), Hillcrest Elementary (1), Maple Grove Elementary (2), Roosevelt Elementary (1), South Junior High (1), West Junior High (1).
Testing totals: At the end of the day Saturday, Health and Welfare reported that 286,830 people had been tested statewide. About 12% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 11,316, Adams 27, Bannock 881, Bear Lake 44, Benewah 136, Bingham 803, Blaine 603, Boise 52, Bonner 269, Bonneville 1,988, Boundary 47, Butte 27, Camas 16, Canyon 7,406, Caribou 84, Cassia 574, Clark 26, Clearwater 28, Custer 50, Elmore 254, Franklin 84, Fremont 141, Gem 244, Gooding 223, Idaho 85, Jefferson 399, Jerome 633, Kootenai 2,449, Latah 297, Lemhi 55, Lewis 12, Lincoln 68, Madison 370, Minidoka 574, Nez Perce 361, Oneida 20, Owyhee 293, Payette 711, Power 210, Shoshone 210, Teton 126, Twin Falls 1,805, Valley 80, Washington 306.
Counties with community spread: All counties except Adams, Butte and Franklin have been announced to have community spread.
