COVID-19 hospital numbers improve slightly, but Idaho adds 51 deaths, over 2,300 cases

Idaho added more than 2,300 new COVID-19 cases and 51 deaths over the weekend and Monday, but the state’s hospitalization picture amid crisis standards of care is showing some improvement, according to the Department of Health and Welfare.

The number of hospitalizations statewide stood at 754 on Thursday, the most recent day when full data were available, after being at 793 on Friday, Sept. 24. Over that same time frame, the number of patients in intensive care ticked down from 213 to 194.

Ada and Canyon counties added 873 and 394 new cases, respectively, over the past three days, accounting for more than half of the state’s caseload of 2,360. Canyon County added 17 of the new deaths.

The state’s vaccination rate, one of the poorest in the nation, inched up to 52.5% of eligible adults (12 and older), according to Health and Welfare’s coronavirus website. The national rate is 65.4%. A total of 791,928 Idahoans have been fully vaccinated.