Idaho COVID-19 surge: 81 deaths, over 7,000 cases for week. 3 counties total 3,448.
Idaho added more than 7,000 COVID-19 cases the week of Sept. 7, as hospitals in the northern reaches of the state descended into last-resort triage efforts.
The state added 7,089 for the week, with 1,574 coming on Friday, according to updated data from the Department of Health and Welfare. Three counties — Ada, Canyon and Kootenai, home to Couer d’Alene and the place where hospitalization rates forced crisis standards of care to be implemented — accounted for 3,448 of those on the week.
The state also added 81 deaths for the week, including 13 on Friday. At long-term care facilities, there were 736 more cases than the previous week, and two more deaths, according to state data.
A surge in cases health experts have linked to the delta variant continues to cripple Idaho’s hospitals, with crisis standards of care declared in two health districts this week.
Since the end of July, the state has recorded over 30,000 new COVID-19 cases, bring the tally to 232,623 since last March. The state’s test positivity rate, a measure of disease spread in the community, has risen for 11 straight weeks. As of Sept. 8, the most recent date available, there were 613 patients in Idaho hospitals with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, the highest at any point during the pandemic.
The highly contagious variant has prodded some school boards to question their decisions to not require masks this fall. In a reversal, the West Ada School District — the state’s largest — announced on Wednesday that it will temporarily require masks in classrooms this month. The move comes roughly two weeks after the district decided parents could opt students out of mask rules.
“As one of the largest organizations in the Treasure Valley, as well as state, we believe that we have a public health obligation,” Superintendent Derek Bub said at a Wednesday board meeting. “Implementing a mask requirement for students and staff is one way that West Ada can make a positive contribution to the community.”
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced sweeping new vaccine mandates that could have far-reaching effects in Idaho, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates of any state. Only 49.7% of Idahoans 12 or older are fully vaccinated, compared to 62.5% nationwide, according to Health and Welfare.
Despite the state’s low vaccination rates and crisis situation at hospitals, Gov. Brad Little continues to resist vaccine mandates, which he says amount to government overreach. On Friday, he announced that he was “exploring” a potential lawsuit against the federal government over new mandates, which would affect federal government employees and contractors, and private businesses with more than 100 employees.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 10,311 COVID-19-related hospitalizations, 1,715 admissions to an intensive care unit and 11,681 health care workers infected, according to state data.
LONG-TERM CARE UPDATE
As of Friday, Health and Welfare reports that there are 4,159 active coronavirus cases among 104 facilities, which is 736 more than the 3,423 cases reported on Sept. 3. There are 226 facilities with resolved outbreaks.
To date, 828 people from 184 facilities in Idaho have died from COVID-19-related causes — two more than were reported last Friday. Long-term care deaths account for about 34% of the 2,460 deaths in the state.
The most recent data from Health and Welfare show that 76.4% of Idahoans age 65 and older have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
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.
American Falls: Power County Nursing Home; Blackfoot: Bingham Memorial Skilled Nursing, Syringa Chalet Nursing Facility; Boise: State Veterans Home-Boise, Aspen Valley Senior Living, Park Place Assisted Living, Edgewood Spring Creek-Overland, Cottages of Boise, Edgewood Spring Creek Ustick, Terraces of Boise, Ashley Manor-Cloverdale, Cascadia of Boise, Arbor Valley of Cascadia, Grace Assisted Living at State St., Ashley Manor-Cory Lane (formerly AarenBrooke Place), Arbor Village at Hillcrest, Brooklyn House, Veranda Senior Living-Barber Station, Riviera Residential Care, MorningStar Memory Care at Englefield Green; Buhl: Desert View Care; Burley: Parke View Rehab; Caldwell: Autumn Wind Assisted Living; Coeur d’Alene: Ivy Court, Garden at Orchard Ridge, Pacifica Senior Living Coeur d’Alene, Advanced Health Care of Coeur d’Alene, Legends Park Assisted Living, Life Care Center of Coeur d’Alene, LaCrosse Health & Rehab; Eagle: Foxtail Senior Living, Ashley Manor-Storybook Way;
Emmett: Meadow View Assisted Living, River’s Edge Rehab, Cottages of Emmett; Fruitland: Edgewood Spring Creek Fruitland; Garden City: Emerson House at Riverpointe; Hayden: Harmony House Assisted Living, Maplewood Assisted Living; Idaho Falls: MorningStar of Idaho Falls; Fairwinds-Sand Creek, Yellowstone Group Home #1, Lily and Syringa Assisted Living, Tambree Meadows Assisted Living, Gables of Idaho Falls Assisted Living, Life Care Center of Idaho Falls; Jerome: Desano Place Assisted Living, Creekside Residential Care Center; Kimberly: Oak Creek Rehab; Kuna: Communicare #5 Kuna, Swan Falls Assisted Living; Lewiston: Advanced Health Care of Lewiston, Golden Girls Residential Care, Generations at Lewiston (formerly Guardian ANgel), Royal Plaza-Lewiston, State Veterans Home-Lewiston, Lewiston Transitional Care of Cascadia, Serenity Place Residential Care;
Meridian: Edgewood Spring Creek Meridian, Harmony Hills, Tomorrow’s Hope-Lavin, Crestwood Serenity Assisted Living, Meridian Meadows Transitional Care, Meridian Meadows Assisted Living, Golden Years Oak Crest, Touchmark-Elkhorn Lodge, Veranda Senior Living-Paramount, Grace Assisted Living-Fairview Lakes, Aspen Transitional Rehab; Montpelier: Bear Lake Memorial Skilled Nursing, Bear Lake Manor; Moscow: Good Samaritan Society-Moscow Village, Milestone Decisions #2 6th St., Palouse Hills Assisted Living; Nampa: Meadow View Nursing & Rehab, Wellspring of Cascadia, Tomorrow’s Hope-Nampa, Southwest Idaho Treatment Center; Orofino: Clearwater Health & Rehab of Cascadia; Payette: Payette Healthcare of Cascadia; Pinehurst: Pacifica Senior Living Pinehurst;
Pocatello: State Veterans Home-Pocatello, Quail Ridge, Quinn Meadows Rehab & Care Center, Elegant Residential Living, Caring Hearts Assisted Living, Brookdale Pocatello; Post Falls: Life Care of Post Falls, Guardian Angel Homes; Preston: Heritage Senior Living; Rexburg: Temple View Transitional Care; Rigby: The Wildflower of Rigby; Rupert: Countryside Care and Rehab; Salmon: Discovery Rehab and Living; Sandpoint: Life Care Center of Sandpoint, Valley Vista Care-Sandpoint; Twin Falls: Bridgeview Estates-Assisted Living, Bridgeview Estates Skilled Nursing; Serenity Transitional Care, Brookdale Twin Falls, Heritage Assisted Living, Canyons Retirement Community; Weiser: Cottages of Weiser; Winchester: Lakeside Assisted Living.
WEEKLY SNAPSHOT
Vaccine doses administered in Idaho: 1,528,899, according to Health and Welfare. Of those, 750,553 people have been fully vaccinated, which accounts for 49.7% of Idahoans age 12 and older.
Test positivity rate: Out of the 41,171 COVID-19 tests conducted for the week of Aug. 29 - Sept. 4, 14.5% came back positive.
