This article was originally written by Michael Lycklama of the Idaho Statesman.
Canyon County’s spike of new COVID-19 cases continued Saturday.
The county added 163 new confirmed cases on the Fourth of July, bringing its total to 1,147 — nearly triple what it was two weeks ago (+199.5%).
Saturday’s total marks the fourth single-day record for Canyon County this week. The 163 cases Saturday topped the previous record (113) it set Friday, which topped Tuesday’s record (91) and Monday’s record (67).
The spike in Canyon County, home to Nampa and Caldwell, comes as Idaho continues to report higher and higher numbers in its fight against the coronavirus.
The state added 373 new confirmed cases Saturday, according to state and local health district reports. That is the state’s second highest single-day total of cases, trailing only the 472 Idaho’s local health districts reported Monday, which likely included many Sunday cases as well.
The Fourth of July cases bring Idaho’s statewide total to 6,805, more than double what it was 16 days ago.
Ada County added another 124 cases as it added another triple-digit day to its growing caseload, which now stands at a state-leading 2,489.
Other counties with new cases include: Bonner 1 (37 total), Bonneville 10 (105 total), Gem 5 (34 total), Jerome 1 (212 total), Kootenai 41 (398 total), Madison 1 (28 total), Minidoka 1 (177 total), Nez Perce 1 (86 total), Owyhee 6 (39 total), Payette 10 (110 total), Shoshone 1 (2 total), Twin Falls 6 (565 total), Valley 1 (17 total) and Washington 1 (105 total).
The state health department also reported 11 new cases among health care workers, four new hospitalizations and one new admission to intensive care.
It did not update the number of current hospitalizations after reporting a new high of 75 from Wednesday, the most recent day publicly available.
It also removed two “probable cases,” leaving the state with 591. It decreased the number of tests reported to the state by 799, and it reported 2,858 cases are “presumed recovered.” It adjusted the presumed recovered number down by 1,592 earlier this week when it discovered a data error.
(Note: The Idaho Statesman normally relies on reports from local health districts. Eastern Idaho Public Health was the only district to update on the Fourth of the July. So the Statesman added its missing report to the state health department’s update.)
CRUSH THE CURVE OPENS NEW TEST SITE
Crush the Curve will open a new active virus testing site Tuesday at Eagle Middle School, the nonprofit announced Saturday.
Hours for the drive-up site are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
You can schedule an appointment and take a symptom assessment online. Appointments are encouraged but not required.
Those without insurance will receive the test for free through federal coronavirus relief funds.
Camille Blaylock of Crush the Curve said the organization plans to open additional Treasure Valley testing sites soon but could not give a timeline. She said Crush the Curve has secured the locations, testing kits and lab capacity, but it needs more staff to run the test sites.
DAILY DETAILS
Hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports there have been 359 hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, 122 admissions to the ICU and 569 health care workers who have been infected. The hospital and health care numbers are based on cases with completed investigations into contacts, not the full number of positives.
Testing totals: At the end of the day Saturday, Health and Welfare reported that 103,675 tests had been completed statewide. About 6.6% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 2,489, Adams 10, Bannock 103, Bear Lake 2, Benewah 13, Bingham 57, Blaine 527, Boise 4, Bonner 37, Bonneville 105, Boundary 1, Camas 1, Canyon 1,174, Caribou 15, Cassia 224, Clearwater 2, Custer 5, Elmore 62, Franklin 25, Fremont 7, Gem 34, Gooding 56, Idaho 5, Jefferson 14, Jerome 212, Kootenai 398, Latah 21, Lemhi 2, Lincoln 32, Madison 28, Minidoka 177, Nez Perce 86, Oneida 5, Owyhee 39, Payette 110, Power 16, Shoshone 2, Teton 19, Twin Falls 565, Valley 17 and Washington 105.
Counties with community spread: Ada, Bannock, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Nez Perce, Owyhee, Oneida, Payette, Power, Teton, Twin Falls, Valley and Washington.
