COVID-19 case counts ‘overwhelm’ health districts as Idaho shatters more records
Successive days of record-breaking new coronavirus case counts are overwhelming Idaho health districts’ attempts to manage the pandemic, as the state’s daily case counts keep climbing with no end in sight.
Idaho’s seven public health districts reported another record-breaking day Friday, recording 1,132 new confirmed coronavirus cases and an additional 285 probable cases. That’s a new record for total cases reported in one day at 1,417 new confirmed and probable cases. The previous highs were 959 confirmed cases on Oct. 23 and 1,301 total cases on Thursday.
Idaho is averaging more than 1,000 cases per day in its seven-day average for the first time — after the average hit 900 for the first time just two days ago.
More than half of the health districts — Central District Health in Boise, Southwest District Health in Caldwell, South Central Public Health District in Twin Falls and the Panhandle Health District in North Idaho — issued a joint statement Friday afternoon warning the unrelenting climb in cases was hampering their ability to contact all new reported cases or their close contacts.
Some districts have started to prioritize investigative calls by age, the Friday press release said, ensuring staff reach the people most at risk for severe symptoms and those most likely to spread the disease.
Because of the backlogs, Idaho health districts are urging anyone waiting for a test result or who receives a positive test result to protect themselves and those around them.
“We have to rely on everyone we don’t speak with to act responsibly on their own,” said Doug Doney, the acting director of Southwest District Health in Caldwell. “That means isolating while waiting for test results and, if positive, warning all of their close contacts that they need to quarantine right away.”
A variety of complicating factors is hampering health district investigations across the state, according to the joint statement. Central District Health in Boise is prioritizing investigations of cases in long-term care facilities and schools. The health districts based in Caldwell and Twin Falls are recording roughly 200 new cases a day, and the South Central Public Health District recorded three times as many cases in October as any other month during the pandemic. Staff at the Panhandle Health District are working after hours in a “stressful” environment, with the North Idaho public often “resistant” to their help.
“We are able to report over 100 cases per day, but that is only what we are able to get into data entry,” said Katherine Hoyer, the spokesperson for Panhandle Health District. “Some days there may be double that amount of cases and our staff is struggling to just keep our heads above water.”
Thirteen new deaths were also announced Friday with five in Ada, two in Kootenai and one each in Canyon, Franklin, Bonneville, Nez Perce, Twin Falls and Bonner counties.
Every health district posted new confirmed coronavirus case totals over 100 on Friday, and so did several counties. Ada County reported 243 new confirmed cases (16,262 total), Canyon County reported 115 (10,165 total) and Kootenai County reported 108 (4,600 total).
Other population centers continue to post high numbers, as many rural hospitals warned this week that their staff was being overwhelmed by similarly high numbers of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. Twin Falls County recorded 93 new confirmed cases (4,287 total), Bonneville County recorded 97 (4,044 total), Nez Perce County reported 59 cases (1,143 total) and Bannock County reported 44 cases (2,052 total).
Idaho has seen 61,453 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, plus 9,799 total probable cases. Health and Welfare estimates 31,969 of those cases have recovered.
The other counties reporting new confirmed cases were Adams (2 new, 68 total), Bear Lake (2 new, 81 total), Benewah (4 new, 196 total), Bingham (37 new, 1,372 total), Blaine (15 new, 930 total), Boise (1 new, 80 total), Bonner (15 new, 513 total), Boundary (6 new, 108 total), Butte (3 new, 95 total), Caribou (13 new, 247 total), Cassia (38 new, 1,489 total), Clearwater (7 new, 165 total), Elmore (12 new, 451 total), Franklin (11 new, 351 total), Fremont (7 new, 499 total), Gem (5 new, 424 total), Gooding (10 new, 551 total), Idaho (12 new, 430 total), Jefferson (13 new, 879 total), Jerome (31 new, 1,191 total), Latah (23 new, 1,062 total), Lemhi (14 new, 300 total), Lewis (8 new, 103 total), Lincoln (4 new, 232 total), Madison (31 new, 2,617 total), Minidoka (15 new, 1,230 total), Oneida (4 new, 72 total), Owyhee (5 new, 389 total), Payette (5 new, 1,069 total), Power (5 new, 330 total), Shoshone (7 new, 305 total), Teton (2 new, 307 total), Valley (2 new, 137 total) and Washington (4 new, 463 total).
Long-term care update
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare released its weekly update on COVID-19 in care facilities Friday.
Outbreaks at Idaho facilities increased by 11 to 240 overall, total individual cases jumped by 304 (4,119 total) and deaths rose by 13 to 322, with three facilities recording their first death.
Active cases increased to 2,892 at 147 facilities — up from 2,620 at 132 facilities last week. There are 93 facilities with resolved outbreaks.
Below is a list of long-term care facilities by city that have active cases of the coronavirus:
American Falls: Edgewood Spring Creek American Falls; Ammon: Promontory Point Rehabilitation; Ashton: Ashton Memorial Living Center; Bellevue: Cove of Cascadia; Blackfoot: Syringa Chalet Nursing Facility; Boise: Terraces of Boise, Edgewood Spring Creek-Overland, Cascadia of Boise, Garden Plaza of Valley View-Valley View Nursing & Rehab, Garden Plaza of Valley View-The Bridge at Valley View, Overland Court Senior Living, Willow Park Senior Living, Arbor Village at Hillcrest, Arbor Valley of Cascadia, Veranda Senior Living-Barber Station, Park Place Assisted Living of Boise, Edgewood Castle Hills, Independent Living Services-Five Mile, Grace Assisted Living at State St., Shaw Mountain of Cascadia, State Veterans Home-Boise, Independent Living Services Freedom, MorningStar Senior Living of Boise, Edgewood Spring Creek Memory Care-Five Mile, Edgewood Plantation Place, Overland Court Generations Memory Care, Ashley Manor-Cloverdale, Regency Columbia Village, Communicare No. 3 Pond, Brookdale Boise Parkcenter;
Bonners Ferry: Boundary County Nursing Home, Community Restorium; Bonneville: New Beginnings Community Living; Buhl: Desert View Care, River Rock Assisted Living, Evergreen Place Assisted Living, Autumn Breeze; Burley: Mini Cassia Care Center, Parke View Rehab, Diamond Peak of Burley, Highland Estates, Rosetta of Burley; Caldwell: Autumn Wind, Canyon West of Cascadia, Lenity Senior Living; Challis: Diamond Peak Health Care of Challis; Coeur d’Alene: Lacrosse Health & Rehab, Advanced Health Care of Coeur d’Alene, Life Care Center of Coeur d’Alene, Ivy Court, Coeur d’Alene Health and Rehab of Cascadia, Pacifica Senior Living Coeur d’Alene, Courtyard at Coeur d’Alene, Rose Terrace Cottages, Legends Park Assisted Living, Renaissance at Coeur d’Alene;
Darlington: Antelope Creek Living Center; Eagle: Edgewood Spring Creek Eagle Island; Gooding: Desano Place Assisted Living, Bennett Hills Rehab & Care Center; Grangeville: Meadowlark Homes; Idaho Falls: Life Care Center of Idaho Falls, Yellowstone Group Home No. 1, Teton Post-Acute Care and Rehab, Fairwinds-Sand Creek, Good Samaritan-Idaho Falls Village, Parkwood Meadows, Lily and Syringa Assisted Living, Lincoln Court Retirement Community, Broadway Fields Assisted Living; Jerome: Ashley Manor-Lincoln, Creekside Care Center; Kimberly: Oak Creek, Ashley Manor-Buttercup Trail; Kootenai: Hearthstone Village; Kuna: Swan Falls Assisted Living;
Lewiston: The Orchards, Life Care Center of Lewiston, Advanced Health Care of Lewiston, Lewiston Transitional Care of Cascadia, Brookdale Lewiston, State Veterans Home-Lewiston; McCall: McCall Rehab and Care Center; Meridian: Creekside Transitional Care, Touchmark at Meadow Lake Village, Edgewood Spring Creek Meridian, Golden Years Oak Crest, Veranda Senior Living-Paramount, Grace Assisted Living-Fairview Lakes, Trinity at 1st Street, Meridian Meadows; Montpelier: Bear Lake Memorial Skilled Nursing, Bear Lake Manor; Moscow: Good Samaritan Society-Moscow Village; Nampa: Meadow View Nursing & Rehab, Streamside Assisted Living, Grace Assisted Living-Nampa, Karcher Estates, Sunny Ridge (Skilled Nursing), Cascadia of Nampa, Cottages of Nampa, Southwest Idaho Treatment Center;
Orofino: Clearwater Health & Rehab of Cascadia, Brookside Landing; Payette: Payette Healthcare; Pocatello: Brookdale Pocatello, Caring Hearts Assisted Living, State Veterans Home-Pocatello, Independence Home, Elegant Residential Living, Monte Vista Hills, Gateway Transitional Care Center, Gables of Pocatello 1; Post Falls: Guardian Angel Homes, Seven Oaks Community Home-Elm, Seven Oaks Community Home-Larri Lee, Seven Oaks Community Home-Stephanie, Seven Oaks Community Home-Tybalt, The Lodge at Riverside Harbor; Preston: Franklin County Transitional Care, Heritage Senior Living; Rexburg: Madison Carriage Cove, Temple View Transitional Care, Homestead Assisted Living Rexburg;
Rigby: Rigby Country Living Center; Rupert: Countryside Care and Rehab, Autumn Haven Assisted Living, Vista Assisted Living (now Etosha Assisted Living); Salmon: Discovery Rehab and Living; Sandpoint: Life Care Center of Sandpoint; Shoshone: Lincoln County Care Center; Silverton: Good Samaritan Society-Silver Wood Village; Soda Springs: Caribou Memorial Living Center; St. Anthony: Homestead Assisted Living-St. Anthony; Twin Falls: Brookdale Twin Falls, Serenity Transitional Care, Bridgeview Estates, Chardonnay Assisted Living, Twin Falls Care, Heritage Assisted Living, Ashley Manor-Parkview, The Canyons Retirement Community, Clear Creek Home, Campus View Home, Syringa Place; Weiser: Weiser Care of Cascadia; Wendell: Magic Valley Manor; Winchester: Lakeside Assisted Living.
DAILY DETAILS
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 2,825 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, 574 admissions to the ICU and 4,171 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 Nov. 5, the health system was reporting 100 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 605 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 18%.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of Nov. 5, the health system was reporting 61 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 397 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 18.2%.
Boise School District: The district says the following schools or units have reported confirmed COVID-19 cases among students or staff since Nov. 3: Amity Elementary (2), Boise High (6), Borah High, (1) Capital High (1), Cynthia Mann Elementary (1), District Services Center (1), Hawthorne Elementary (3), Hillside Junior High (2), Longfellow Elementary (1), Lowell Elementary (2), Morley Nelson Elementary (1), North Junior High (3), Riverglen Junior High (1), Riverside Elementary (1), Shadow Hills Elementary (1), South Junior High (2), Timberline High (3), West Junior High (1), White Pine Elementary (1), Whittier Elementary (6).
West Ada School District: The district says the following schools or units have reported confirmed COVID-19 cases among students or staff for the weeks of Oct. 18-31: Centennial High (2), Eagle High (6), Meridian High (13), Mountain View High (7), Renaissance High (1), Rocky Mountain High (4), Eagle Middle (2), Heritage Middle (1), Lake Hazel Middle (2), Lewis and Clark Middle (5), Lowell Scott Middle (3), Meridian Middle (1), Sawtooth Middle (2), Star Middle (1), Victory Middle (1), Cecil D. Andrus Elementary (2), Chief Joseph School of the Arts (1), Discovery Elementary (1), Eagle Hills Elementary (1), Eliza Hart Spalding Stem Academy (1), Galileo STEM Academy (1), Hillsdale Elementary (1), McMillan Elementary (3), Meridian Elementary (2), Paramount Elementary (1), Peregrine Elementary (1), Pioneer School of the Arts (1), River Valley Elementary (3).
Testing totals: At the end of the day Friday, Health and Welfare reported that 403,088 people had been tested statewide. About 15.3% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with community spread: All counties except Adams have been announced to have community spread.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 16,262, Adams 68, Bannock 2,052, Bear Lake 81, Benewah 196, Bingham 1,372, Blaine 930, Boise 80, Bonner 513, Bonneville 4,044, Boundary 108, Butte 95, Camas 38, Canyon 10,165, Caribou 247, Cassia 1,489, Clark 34, Clearwater 165, Custer 92, Elmore 451, Franklin 351, Fremont 499, Gem 424, Gooding 551, Idaho 430, Jefferson 879, Jerome 1,191, Kootenai 4,600, Latah 1,062, Lemhi 300, Lewis 103, Lincoln 232, Madison 2,617, Minidoka 1,230, Nez Perce 1,143, Oneida 72, Owyhee 389, Payette 1,069, Power 330, Shoshone 305, Teton 307, Twin Falls 4,287, Valley 137, Washington 463.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 9:20 PM.
