Coronavirus: Idaho prisons will no longer identify inmates who die from COVID-19
In a change of policy, the Idaho Department of Correction will no longer release the names of inmates who die after contracting COVID-19.
Since the coronavirus outbreak first reached Idaho, five people who tested positive for COVID-19 in IDOC custody have died. Four died in Idaho hospitals while the fifth was being held at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona prior to his death.
However, only the first two men to die have been named publicly by IDOC.
Jeff Ray, the department’s spokesperson, told the Statesman in an email that the IDOC will no longer identify inmates who die after contracting the virus. Ray said the department believes it cannot protect a person’s private medical information by releasing their name along with news of their positive coronavirus test and death.
“IDOC has determined the only way we can be transparent about COVID-19 related deaths and still protect the private medical information of our residents is to refrain from releasing a [sic] the deceased name, but provide notice that it was a COVID-19 related death,” Ray wrote in an email.
Ray added that state epidemiologists and local health districts agree with the approach.
The latest person in IDOC custody to die was an 88-year-old man who was being held at the Idaho State Correctional Institution in Kuna before he tested positive for the coronavirus. The man was taken to a Boise hospital on Oct. 31, and he later died on Nov. 13.
Prior to that, a 53-year-old man — who was also in custody at ISCI — died in a Boise hospital on Nov. 5. The third IDOC inmate to die from the virus was being held at Saguaro in Eloy, Arizona, before he was sent to a hospital in Casa Grande, Arizona. He died on Oct. 17.
The first two Idaho inmate deaths were that of 64-year-old Randall Mark Osterhout and 66-year-old Frank Dawson Conover, who were held at the Idaho State Correctional Center prior to their deaths. Conover died July 29, and Osterhout died Aug. 30.
Idaho sets record for average daily coronavirus cases
For the fourth day in a row, Idaho set a new high for its seven-day moving average for new coronavirus cases.
On Sunday, the state’s seven-day moving average reached 1,327 new cases of COVID-19 a day. That average was 1,289 new cases per day as of Saturday, which was the previous record high. Last Sunday, that average was around 1,100.
Idaho health districts continued the trend of lower case counts on Sundays, as the state added 886 confirmed and 50 probable cases of the coronavirus. That case total broke a six-day streak of more than 1,200 new coronavirus cases being reported each day.
No new deaths were reported in Idaho on Sunday. The state’s death total remains at 763, with a case fatality rate of roughly 0.94%.
Ada County reported 298 new cases on Sunday, bringing its total to 18,693 confirmed cases. The Sunday total caused the county to tie its previous seven-day moving average high of 272.7 cases per day, which was set last Wednesday. Canyon County reported 152 new cases Sunday, growing its seven-day moving average to 158 cases per day. The county now has 11,475 total cases of COVID-19.
Among those counties reporting triple-digit totals on Sunday was Bonneville County, which added 119 new cases of COVID-19 to its total, which is now up to 4,758 cases.
Several Idaho counties reported double-digit case counts on Sunday, including Blaine (10 new), Cassia (30), Gem (13), Jefferson (25), Jerome (12), Kootenai (37), Madison (47), Minidoka (25) and Twin Falls (66).
Since the coronavirus arrived in Idaho, 70,595 confirmed cases have been reported, as well as 11,810 probable cases. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare report that 35,215 of those cases are presumed to have recovered.
As of Saturday, 430,423 people have been tested for the coronavirus in Idaho, according to Health and Welfare. Of those tested, about 16.4% have tested positive for the virus.
All counties except Adams have reports of community spread.
All of Idaho’s 44 counties have confirmed cases of the coronavirus: Ada 18,693, Adams 74, Bannock 2,246, Bear Lake 116, Benewah 216, Bingham 1,526, Blaine 1,020, Boise 89, Bonner 658, Bonneville 4,758, Boundary 128, Butte 98, Camas 40, Canyon 11,475, Caribou 253, Cassia 1,692, Clark 39, Clearwater 222, Custer 110, Elmore 524, Franklin 404, Fremont 568, Gem 515, Gooding 610, Idaho 491, Jefferson 1,006, Jerome 1,367, Kootenai 5,373, Latah 1,286, Lemhi 349, Lewis 135, Lincoln 250, Madison 3,009, Minidoka 1,390, Nez Perce 1,488, Oneida 81, Owyhee 452, Payette 1,165, Power 342, Shoshone 373, Teton 370, Twin Falls 4,915, Valley 161, Washington 518.
