This article was originally published by Rachel Roberts in the Idaho Statesman.
Ada County on Wednesday experienced its largest increase in new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in more than a month, and Idaho saw its biggest caseload in nearly four weeks.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare added 145 new confirmed cases in Ada County, bringing its overall total to 39,936. Ada County had not recorded more than 100 cases in a single day since Feb. 10, and its seven-day moving average has been below 100 per day since Feb. 5. The 145 new confirmed cases is the most since Ada County added 181 on Jan. 29.
Ada County’s seven-day average reached a recent low of 48 cases per day on Feb. 25 and is now back up to an average of 76.2, which is an increase of about 58.8% in less than a week. Boise-based Central District Health is behind on its confirmed case count for Ada County. The local health district reported 39,529 cases through Wednesday.
Health and Welfare and the state’s seven public health districts reported a combined 352 new confirmed cases and 107 probable cases on Wednesday, for 459 total. It is Idaho’s largest single-day case total since Feb. 8.
Seven new coronavirus-related deaths were added between Blaine (1 new, 17 total), Canyon (2 new, 279 total), Latah (1 new, 7 total), Nez Perce (1 new, 52 total), Twin Falls (1 new, 123 total) and Valley (1 new, 6 total) counties. Southeastern Idaho Public Health removed one death from Bannock County (95 total).
To date, Idaho has lost 1,879 residents to the virus, with a case fatality rate of about 1.09%.
Ada County wasn’t the only county to see a significant increase in confirmed cases. Bonneville (39 new, 8,983 total), Canyon (29 new, 20,992 total), Kootenai (30 new, 14,848 total), Madison (18 new, 5,601 total) and Latah (14 new, 2,624 total) counties also grew by double digits.
The other counties adding confirmed cases were Bannock (8 new, 4,716 total), Bear Lake (1 new, 256 total), Benewah (5 new, 497 total), Bingham (9 new, 2,575 total), Blaine (5 new, 1,969 total), Bonner (7 new, 2,433 total), Boundary (1 new, 415 total), Cassia (2 new, 2,443 total), Clearwater (1 new, 750 total), Elmore (3 new, 1,257 total), Franklin (3 new, 866 total), Fremont (4 new, 902 total), Jefferson (7 new, 1,817 total), Lemhi (1 new, 402 total), Minidoka (1 new, 1,899 total), Nez Perce (4 new, 3,070 total), Owyhee (4 new, 884 total), Payette (2 new, 1,894 total), Shoshone (3 new, 951 total), Twin Falls (4 new, 7,010 total), Valley (1 new, 642 total) and Washington (1 new, 849 total).
DAILY DETAILS
Vaccine doses administered in Idaho: 393,615, according to Health and Welfare. Of those, 121,561 people have received only their first dose.
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 7,144 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, 1,241 admissions to the ICU and 9,639 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 March 2, the health system was reporting 24 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 454 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 4%.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of March 2, the health system was reporting 35 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 334 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 8.9%.
Testing totals: Health and Welfare reported that 643,358 people had been tested statewide. About 21.7% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Boise School District: Reported confirmed cases since March 2: Borah High (1), Morley Nelson Elementary (1).
West Ada School District: Reported confirmed cases for Feb. 18-March 3: Eagle High (8), Mountain View High (1), Rocky Mountain High (3), Victory Middle (1), Barbara Morgan STEM Academy (1), Christine Donnell School of the Arts (1), Discovery Elementary (1), Peregrine Elementary (2), Prospect Elementary (1), River Valley Elementary (1).
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 39,936, Adams 251, Bannock 4,716, Bear Lake 256, Benewah 497, Bingham 2,575, Blaine 1,969, Boise 230, Bonner 2,433, Bonneville 8,983, Boundary 415, Butte 164, Camas 53, Canyon 20,992, Caribou 331, Cassia 2,443, Clark 44, Clearwater 750, Custer 179, Elmore 1,257, Franklin 866, Fremont 902, Gem 1,335, Gooding 913, Idaho 881, Jefferson 1,817, Jerome 1,956, Kootenai 14,848, Latah 2,624, Lemhi 402, Lewis 278, Lincoln 371, Madison 5,601, Minidoka 1,899, Nez Perce 3,070, Oneida 223, Owyhee 884, Payette 1,894, Power 458, Shoshone 951, Teton 618, Twin Falls 7,010, Valley 642, Washington 849.
