This article was originally published by Nicole Foy and Rachel Roberts of the Idaho Statesman.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare recorded record numbers of coronavirus cases in schools around the state this week — almost double the normal weekly average.
Meanwhile, Idaho’s health districts continue to post high numbers of new coronavirus cases in counties across the state, reporting 766 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 199 new probable cases.
Nine more deaths related to COVID-19 were also reported Friday, bringing the total number of Idahoans lost to the virus to 627. The latest deaths were reported in Ada (3 new, 178 total), Canyon (2 new, 111 total), Jefferson (1 new, 4 total), Kootenai (1 new, 51 total), Lincoln (1 new, 3 total) and Twin Falls (1 new, 49 total). This week alone, 58 Idaho residents died in connection with COVID-19.
Idaho’s seven-day moving average of new confirmed and probable cases stands at 869.7.
Kootenai County in North Idaho reported the largest case increase, recording 112 new cases (4,113 total) Friday. Ada (15,087 total) and Canyon (9,546 total) counties followed closely behind, both reporting 107 new confirmed coronavirus cases.
Counties on the eastern side of the state also continue to report high COVID-19 case counts. Bannock County, home to Pocatello and Idaho State University, reported 73 new cases Friday (1,885 total) and Bonneville County reported 58 new coronavirus cases (3,696 total). The coronavirus case count in Madison County, which includes Rexburg and BYU-Idaho, continues to grow steadily as well, with 47 new cases for the county.
The other counties adding new confirmed cases were Adams (2 new, 58 total), Benewah (1 new, 177 total), Bingham (8 new, 1,281 total), Blaine (9 new, 865 total), Bonner (9 new, 462 total), Boundary (7 new, 87 total), Butte (1 new, 89 total), Caribou (3 new, 224 total), Cassia (8 new, 1,312 total), Elmore (5 new, 403 total), Franklin (3 new, 317 total), Fremont (3 new, 457 total), Gem (7 new, 383 total), Gooding (11 new, 490 total), Idaho (3 new, 361 total), Jefferson (8 new, 826 total), Jerome (22 new, 1,014 total), Latah (15 new, 947 total), Lemhi (10 new, 241 total), Lincoln (20 new, 203 total), Minidoka (3 new, 1,128 total), Nez Perce (24 new, 860 total), Owyhee (2 new, 368 total), Payette (16 new, 1,017 total), Power (4 new, 316 total), Shoshone (5 new, 281 total), Teton (5 new, 273 total), Twin Falls (37 new, 3,749 total), Valley (5 new, 116 total), Washington (6 new, 432 total).
There have been 55,996 confirmed cases reported since the start of the pandemic with 7,976 probable cases. Health and Welfare estimates that 29,556 of those cases have recovered.
NEW CASES REPORTED IN IDAHO SCHOOLS DOUBLE
The steady rise in cases in some parts of Idaho is reflected in growing coronavirus clusters in the schools. Schools statewide reported at least 198 new coronavirus cases among Idaho students and teachers in the past week, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s latest report, released Friday. Usually, the state records roughly 100 new cases in schools across the state each week.
Bonneville High School in Idaho Falls has reported 18 coronavirus cases overall (five new this week) and Hillcrest High School in Ammon has 11 cases (10 new this week). Minico High School in Rupert has at least 21 COVID-19 cases among students and staff.
Several schools in North Idaho have coronavirus case counts in the double digits, too. Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene reported five new coronavirus cases among students and staff this week, for 30 total case overall. Post Fall High reported 11 new cases this week for 23 total, and the middle school also identified three new cases. Lewiston High School reported eight new cases this week, too.
The report excludes online and virtual schools, as well as those with fewer than 50 students. Numbers reported by the state may be lower than the actual number of students and staff with confirmed coronavirus tests at each school.
FIRST MIS-C CASE REPORTED IN ADA COUNTY CHILD
Central District Health has confirmed the district’s first case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) in an Ada County child, according to a Friday press release.
The child was eventually hospitalized for an illness related to MIS-C, according to the release, but never tested positive for COVID-19 or was considered a probable case.
While the specific cause of this syndrome remains unknown, many children with MIS-C had the SARS-CoV2 virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19. According to the CDC, MIS-C can be serious, even deadly, but most children who have been diagnosed with this condition have gotten better with medical care. So far, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has identified only four Idaho children with the syndrome since the first Idaho case was reported in August.
The child had been in contact with other household members who were sick with COVID-19 and was likely asymptomatically infected, according to Central District Health. Symptoms of MIS-C include fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, and feeling extra tired, according to the CDC.
“Because we know this condition can be severe, but still don’t know why one child over another who has had COVID-19 becomes sick with MIS-C, it really drives home the importance of our entire community being committed to protecting one another,” said Russ Duke, the director of Central District Health. “Follow the orders in place for your community. Be consistently vigilant. It costs us little to nothing to wear a mask, wash our hands, and keep our distance. We need to make this about keeping all generations in our community as healthy as possible to get through this pandemic.”
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 23 to 229 overall, total individual cases jumped by 526 (3,815 total) and deaths rose by eight to 309, with two facilities recording their first death.
Active cases increased to 2,620 at 132 facilities — up from 1,897 at 101 facilities last week. There are 97 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;
Bonners Ferry: Boundary County Nursing Home; 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; Caldwell: Autumn Wind, Canyon West of Cascadia, Lenity Senior Living; 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; Darlington: Antelope Creek Living Center; Eagle: Edgewood Spring Creek Eagle Island; Emmett: Cherry Ridge Center;
Gooding: Desano Place Assisted Living, Bennett Hills Rehab & Care Center; 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: CommuniCare No. 8 Lincoln, Ashley Manor-Lincoln; Kimberly: Oak Creek, Ashley Manor-Buttercup Trail; Kuna: Swan Falls Assisted Living; Lewiston: The Orchards, Life Care Center of Lewiston, Advanced Health Care of Lewiston, Lewiston Transitional Care of Cascadia; 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, Tomorrow’s Hope-Lavin, 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; Orofino: Clearwater Health & Rehab of Cascadia; Pocatello: Brookdale Pocatello, Caring Hearts Assisted Living, Quinn Meadows Rehab & Care Center, 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; 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; Weiser: Weiser Care of Cascadia, Indianhead Estates; Wendell: Magic Valley Manor; Winchester: Lakeside Assisted Living.
DAILY DETAILS
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 2,572 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, 549 admissions to the ICU and 3,918 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 Oct. 29, the health system was reporting 83 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 588 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 15%.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of Oct. 29, the health system was reporting 30 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 387 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 10.2%.
Boise School District: The district says the following schools or units have reported confirmed COVID-19 cases among students or staff since Oct. 20: Amity Elementary (2), Boise High (4), Borah High (1), District Services Center (1), Fairmont Junior High (5), Frank Church High School (3), Grace Jordan Elementary (1), Hawthorne Elementary (1), Highlands Elementary (1), Liberty Elementary (1), Longfellow Elementary (1), Maple Grove Elementary (2), Monroe Elementary (2), Mountain View Elementary (1), North Junior High (4), Riverglen Junior High (1), Riverside Elementary (1), Roosevelt Elementary (2), Shadow Hills Elementary (2), Timberline High (5), Trail Wind Elementary (1), Valley View Elementary (1), West Junior High (2), White Pine Elementary (1), Whittier Elementary (1).
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. 11-24: Centennial High (4), Eagle High (3), Idaho Fine Arts Academy (1), Meridian High (13), Mountain View High (6), Renaissance High School (1), Rocky Mountain High (3), Eagle Middle (3), Heritage Middle (1), Lake Hazel Middle (2), Lowell Scott Middle (2), Meridian Middle (1), Sawtooth Middle (2), Victory Middle (1), Galileo STEM Academy (1), Hunter Elementary (1), McMillan Elementary (1), Meridian Elementary (1), Paramount Elementary (1), Prospect Elementary (1), River Valley Elementary (3).
Testing totals: At the end of the day Friday, Health and Welfare reported that 383,914 people had been tested statewide. About 14.6% 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 15,087, Adams 58, Bannock 1,885, Bear Lake 69, Benewah 177, Bingham 1,281, Blaine 865, Boise 66, Bonner 462, Bonneville 3,696, Boundary 87, Butte 89, Camas 35, Canyon 9,546, Caribou 224, Cassia 1,312, Clark 33, Clearwater 127, Custer 86, Elmore 403, Franklin 317, Fremont 457, Gem 383, Gooding 490, Idaho 361, Jefferson 826, Jerome 1,014, Kootenai 4,113, Latah 947, Lemhi 241, Lewis 80, Lincoln 203, Madison 2,382, Minidoka 1,128, Nez Perce 860, Oneida 54, Owyhee 368, Payette 1,017, Power 316, Shoshone 281, Teton 273, Twin Falls 3,749, Valley 116, Washington 432.
