Central District Health warns of ‘alarming’ COVID-19 numbers in Ada County
Kimberly Link, the communicable disease control manager for Boise-based Central District Health, was the bearer of bad news for anyone tuning in to the live broadcast of the health district’s board meeting Wednesday night.
Ada County appears to be on pace to report more new cases of COVID-19 this week than ever before.
“It’s pretty clear that the measures that we have in place right now are not sufficient to keep our case counts in check,” Link told the CDH board. “… And to put that plainly, we’re asking folks to live a lot more as though there were stay-at-home orders in place, even though we don’t have them, just because our case numbers, they are so high. We realize that being out in the community right now, there is a risk of COVID.”
For the week of Oct. 25-31, Ada County added 1,330 new cases of the coronavirus for an average of 39.45 cases per 100,000 people. Those figures rival the peak in cases the county saw in July, when case counts rose to as many as 1,504 in a single week.
“We’re sitting at almost 40 cases per 100,000 population right now, which is, in my perspective, an alarming place to be,” Link said.
The rise in cases has led to an increase in infections among Ada County’s long-term care facilities, where residents are among the most vulnerable to complications from COVID-19. Link said there are 33 facilities with active cases of the virus. Of Idaho’s 664 coronavirus-related deaths, at least 309 have been long-term care residents, according to the most recent data available from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
Link said Ada County also saw its second case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) in an Ada County child. The first case was reported last Friday, and Link said the second case was reported Wednesday morning. There have been five known cases of MIS-C documented statewide.
In both cases, Link said the children had a family member who tested positive for the virus. The children went through quarantine without symptoms but developed a high fever and signs of severe inflammation about a month later.
“That inflammation can cause damage to different organs, and it can cause heart failure, kidney failure. It can be a life-threatening illness,” Link said. “Thankfully, in this case, both received appropriate medical care and do seem to be doing OK.
“… I think it’s a scary reminder that these situations, while they’re rare, they do occur, and they are something that we do need to keep in mind.”
Ada County added 166 new confirmed cases and 110 new probable cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The county’s seven-day moving average of new confirmed cases stands at 148.7 per day, a rate not seen since July.
Saint Al’s to move Nampa COVID-19 testing site
To prepare for the winter months, Saint Alphonsus will move its COVID-19 testing site from the Garrity Clinic at 150 N Sister Catherine Way in Nampa to a location just south of the emergency department and clinic on 12th Avenue Road.
The testing site at the Garrity Clinic will close on Friday, and the new testing location on 12th Avenue Road and Constitution Way will open Monday, Nov. 9, according to a news release from Saint Al’s. The address of the new clinic is 1524 12th Avenue Road.
Drive-up testing will continue through the weekend at the Meridian Health Plaza, located at 3025 W. Cherry Lane. Coronavirus testing at the Meridian Health Plaza will also move inside starting Monday, and the move will not disrupt testing, according to the hospital.
Saint Al’s wanted to move its testing facilities inside, as temperatures will begin to drop in the coming days and weeks. The Garrity Clinic would not have enough room to accommodate urgent care needs and family medicine appointments in addition to those needing coronavirus tests.
“The weather will make it difficult and uncomfortable for patients and our colleagues to continue with in-car testing,” said Dr. Mark Nassir, the Saint Alphonsus Medical Group president, in a news release. “To allow us to safely continue to test patients, we are relocating to the 12th Avenue location, where we can use the entire building.”
To make an appointment for tests, visit www.saintalphonsus.org/coronavirus/test-scheduling or call the Saint Al’s COVID-19 hotline at 208-302-2683.
Idaho sets records for coronavirus cases — again — and hospitalizations
For the second day in a row Wednesday, Idaho set a record high for both new coronavirus cases reported in a day. It also set a new high for coronavirus hospitalizations.
The state added 1,216 new cases, with 333 probable and 883 confirmed — Idaho’s second-highest confirmed case count. The Wednesday numbers topped the record-setting total from Tuesday, which was 1,181 cases.
Since Oct. 1, Idaho’s seven-day moving average for new cases has nearly doubled. At the start of last month the average was 481.3 new cases per day, and as of Wednesday that average is 939.4, an increase of 95.2%.
Hospitalizations for those confirmed or suspected to have the coronavirus also hit a new high Wednesday. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported there are 296 people with COVID-19 who are hospitalized. The previous high was 286, which was reported on Oct. 26.
Health officials also reported 16 new coronavirus-related deaths, as there are now 664 Idahoans who have died from the virus.
Pairs of deaths were reported in Bannock, Canyon, Cassia and Twin Falls counties. Single deaths were reported in Ada, Bingham, Bonneville, Caribou, Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison and Minidoka counties.
Numerous Idaho counties reported high case counts Wednesday, as three counties each reported case counts in triple digits: Ada (166 new), Canyon (142) and Twin Falls (113).
As of Wednesday, Health and Welfare reported that 395,676 people have been tested for the coronavirus in Idaho, with about 15% of those people testing positive for the virus.
With the exception of Adams County, all other counties in Idaho have reports of community spread.
All of Idaho’s 44 counties have confirmed cases of the coronavirus: Ada 15,828, Adams 64, Bannock 1,987, Bear Lake 75, Benewah 191, Bingham 1,332, Blaine 895, Boise 74, Bonner 488, Bonneville 3,916, Boundary 98, Butte 91, Camas 36, Canyon 9,929, Caribou 231, Cassia 1,416, Clark 34, Clearwater 151, Custer 90, Elmore 436, Franklin 334, Fremont 488, Gem 405, Gooding 536, Idaho 413, Jefferson 856, Jerome 1,135, Kootenai 4,418, Latah 1,023, Lemhi 283, Lewis 92, Lincoln 223, Madison 2,540, Minidoka 1,189, Nez Perce 1,024, Oneida 68, Owyhee 381, Payette 1,043, Power 325, Shoshone 292, Teton 290, Twin Falls 4,099, Valley 131, Washington 450.
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
