Coronavirus: Unemployment claims keep falling; Idaho passes 500 COVID-19 death mark
Idaho’s unemployment claims continue to drop, according to the latest numbers from the Department of Labor.
For the week ending in Oct. 3, Idaho’s continued unemployment claims — in other words the number of people who requested an unemployment benefit payment — declined by 8% to 9,144 claims. The week was the 22nd straight week of decline.
Initial unemployment claims dropped slightly for the week ending with Oct. 3. The total number for initial claims that week were 2,955, a drop of 40 cases from the prior week.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, a total of $883.1 million in unemployment benefits have been paid out to Idahoans. The vast majority of that money comes from federal resources, as state unemployment benefits made up $201 million, while federal relief programs enacted during the pandemic made up the majority of the remaining funds.
Idaho passes 500 COVID-19 deaths; adds over 530 new cases
Idaho hit a new, grim milestone on Wednesday as the state exceeded 500 coronavirus-related deaths after adding nine deaths to its totals.
Of the nine new deaths reported Wednesday, five were reported in Kootenai County, which now has 44 reported coronavirus-related deaths. Two deaths were reported in Bannock, while single deaths were reported in Bonneville and Lewis counties.
The Bannock deaths were said to be of two women, one in her 40s and the other in her 90s, according to Southeast Idaho Public Health. The Bonneville death was said to be a man in his 70s, according to Eastern Idaho Public Health. Updated demographics from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare indicate for four of the other deaths show one person was in their 60s, one was in their 70s, and two people were age 80 or older.
On Aug. 3, the state had only 200 deaths. Just two months later, Idaho has reported over 300 additional deaths. As of Wednesday, Idaho has 502 coronavirus-related deaths.
In addition to the deaths, Idaho health districts also reported a combined 530 new confirmed cases Wednesday and 136 “probable” cases. That total — 666 — is the third-most new cases reported in a single day.
Idaho’s seven-day moving average increased to 527.6 new cases per day. Three weeks ago that average was 263.9 cases, nearly half the current average.
Ada County added 84 confirmed and 35 probable cases Wednesday, the most in the state. It now has 12,558 confirmed cases. Canyon County was just behind, adding 80 confirmed cases and 10 probable cases. The county has 8,030 confirmed cases as of Wednesday.
Numerous counties in Idaho also reported double-digit new confirmed cases Wednesday, including Twin Falls (63 new), Kootenai (51), Bonneville (28), Latah (27), Madison (20), Minidoka (16), Nez Perce (16), Bingham (15), Jerome (15), Bannock (14) and Bonner (12).
As of Wednesday, there are 41,437 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Idaho. Of those cases, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports 23,475 of those confirmed cases are presumed to be recovered.
IDHW also says there are 4,533 probable cases in the state. The department also reported 324,328 people in Idaho who have been tested for the coronavirus, with around 12.8% of those cases returning positive.
Every county in Idaho — with the exception of Adams County — have reports of community spread.
All of Idaho’s 44 counties have reported cases of the coronavirus: Ada 12,558, Adams 27, Bannock 1,203, Bear Lake 51, Benewah 159, Bingham 1,012, Blaine 681, Boise 58, Bonner 351, Bonneville 2,530, Boundary 49, Butte 52, Camas 31, Canyon 8,030, Caribou 118, Cassia 786, Clark 33, Clearwater 74, Custer 67, Elmore 304, Franklin 176, Fremont 249, Gem 306, Gooding 296, Idaho 224, Jefferson 560, Jerome 743, Kootenai 2,892, Latah 653, Lemhi 99, Lewis 43, Lincoln 80, Madison 1,014, Minidoka 744, Nez Perce 471, Oneida 28, Owyhee 320, Payette 847, Power 265, Shoshone 216, Teton 193, Twin Falls 2,389, Valley 95, Washington 360.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 11:07 AM.
