COVID-19 daily case rate keeps falling in Idaho, but test positivity rate inches up
The average number of new daily COVID-19 cases in Idaho fell to below 70 this week, a rate that Idaho has not seen in more than a year.
Hospitalization and death rates have also slowed in the state. After peaking at nearly 20 deaths per day in December, Idaho now has a seven-day moving average of around 2 deaths per day.
But the state’s test positivity rate rose slightly, according to updated data. The rate for the week ending June 26 was 3.1%, up from 2.9% the week prior. The number of tests taken each week has declined by more than two-thirds since the start of this year.
After hitting a seven-day average of 74 new cases per day on June 19, 2020, case counts quickly rose to a summer peak of more than 500 per day in late July. Cases then fell slightly until the end of September, when Idaho saw its biggest spike begin. The second week of December, the state was averaging ore than 1,600 new cases per day.
Since June 25, 48 people have been hospitalized in the state, and eight people have entered an ICU. Thirty-eight health care workers have also been infected with COVID-19 over the past seven days, and 482 people have been infected with the virus.
In the past week, 13 Idahoans died from COVID-19.
Idaho’s low vaccination uptake continues, with only 19,126 doses of vaccine administered in the past week, which includes residents who are receiving a first dose as well as those receiving a second. Only 44.1% of Idahoans 12 and older have been fully vaccinated, according to Health and Welfare, which is significantly lower than the national average of 64%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Idaho has the 7th-lowest percentage of fully vaccinated people of all states, as health officials warn of a possible surge because of the spread of a COVID-19 variant that now accounts for around 25% of cases nationwide, according to the CDC. Areas with low vaccination rates are more at risk, doctors say.
The Delta variant, first identified in India, is labeled as a “variant of concern” by the CDC, which means there is evidence that it is more contagious, more dangerous or more resistant to vaccines.
Long-term care update
As of Friday, Idaho added one new COVID-19 death tied to a long-term care facility, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 802. Deaths at care facilities account for over 37% of deaths statewide and are associated with 179 facilities. There have been 9,639 total cases at such facilities. On July 2, Health and Welfare reported there are 1,000 people with COVID-19 at 16 long-term care facilities.
Below is a list of long-term care facilities by city that have active cases of the coronavirus among residents and/or staff. For an outbreak to be considered “resolved,” more than 28 days must pass (two incubation periods) without any additional cases associated with the facility.
Boise: Life Care of Treasure Valley, Garden Plaza of Valley View-Valley View Nursing & Rehab, Garden Plaza of Valley View-Bridge at Valley View; Caldwell: Lenity Senior Living; Chubbuck: Brookdale Chubbuck, Grace at Chubbuck; Coeur d’Alene: Ivy Court; Hayden: Wellspring Meadows;
Lewiston: Guardian Angel Homes Lewiston (now Generations at Lewiston); Meridian: Touchmark at Meadow Lake Village, Grace Assisted Living-Fairview Lakes; Middleton: Cottages of Middleton; Mountain Home: St. Luke’s Elmore Long-Term Care; Nampa: Heron Place; Pocatello: Gateway Transitional Care Center, Brookdale Pocatello; Rexburg: Madison Carriage Cove.
Weekly snapshot
Vaccine doses administered in Idaho: 1,335,050, according to Health and Welfare. Of those, 666,099 people have been fully vaccinated, which accounts for 44.1% of Idahoans age 12 and older.
Test positivity rate: Out of the 12,543 COVID-19 tests conducted for the week of June 20-26, 3.1% came back positive.
Counties with highest current seven-day incidence rate per 100,000 population: Franklin 14.4, Gem 10.3, Valley 8.8, 7.4, Twin Falls 7.4, Oneida 6.3.
Visit our “what we know” file for a daily look at new cases by county and other key numbers.
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 9:32 PM.
