Idaho broke numerous records related to COVID-19 on Friday as health officials reported a record number of daily cases and the number of deaths in a single week hit a peak.
According to an Idaho Statesman analysis of data from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and local health districts, the state added 1,618 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as well as 407 probable cases. The number of confirmed cases is a single-day record, as is the combined total of 2,025 new cases for the day. Idaho has only once before reported more than 2,000 new cases — Nov. 27, when officials reported two days of case data following the Thanksgiving holiday.
Ada County alone reported 433 new confirmed coronavirus infections Friday. That brought the county’s seven-day moving average of new daily confirmed cases to a record 312.6, which is the first time the seven-day moving average for the county has exceeded an average of 300 new cases per day.
Canyon and Kootenai counties also reported triple-digit new cases. Kootenai County, home to Coeur d’Alene, reported 311 new cases (7,507 total) while Canyon County added 200 new cases (14,720 total).
Statewide, officials reported 16 new COVID-19-related deaths on Friday: Ada County (6 new, 264 total), Bannock County (2 new, 37 total), Bonner County (2 new, 9 total), Canyon County (4 new, 153 total), Madison County (1 new, 9 total) and Owyhee County (1 new, 13 total). Southeastern District Health reported both deaths were men in Bannock County, one in his 70s and the other in his 80s. Eastern Idaho Public Health officials said the Madison County death was a man in his 80s. No details were provided for the other deaths.
Since Monday, Idaho has reported 113 COVID-19 deaths — the most in a single week.
According to data reported Friday, Idaho hit another COVID-19 hospitalizations record on Tuesday with 496. That number dropped to 477 on Wednesday, according to IDHW. There were 105 COVID-19 ICU cases in Idaho on Wednesday.
Since March, officials have reported 91,523 confirmed cases statewide. Health and Welfare reported that Idaho has had 17,123 probable cases of the coronavirus and estimates that 42,671 people are presumed to have recovered from the virus.
The following Idaho counties also reported new COVID-19 cases Friday: Adams (2 new, 99 total), Bannock (52 new, 2,953 total), Bear Lake (3 new, 164 total), Benewah (3 new, 278 total), Bingham (26 new, 1,929 total), Blaine (24 new, 1,280 total), Boise (3 new, 121 total), Bonner (55 new, 978 total), Bonneville (87 new, 6,177 total), Boundary (3 new, 179 total), Butte (3 new, 112 total), Caribou (1 new, 267 total), Cassia (14 new, 2,040 total), Clearwater (14 new, 503 total), Custer (3 new, 140 total), Elmore (13 new, 714 total), Franklin (12 new, 578 total), Fremont (9 new, 696 total), Gem (25 new, 851 total), Gooding (5 new, 752 total), Idaho (6 new, 714 total), Jefferson (37 new, 1,309 total), Jerome (15 new, 1,633 total), Latah (31 new, 1,729 total), Lewis (11 new, 203 total), Lincoln (3 new, 301 total), Madison (50 new, 3,995 total), Minidoka (14 new, 1,622 total), Nez Perce (43 new, 2,300 total), Oneida (4 new, 122 total), Owyhee (11 new, 666 total), Payette (30 new, 1,460 total), Shoshone (16 new, 534 total), Teton (2 new, 432 total), Twin Falls (33 new, 5,820 total), Valley (4 new, 226 total) and Washington (7 new, 664 total).
IDAHO VACCINE COMMITTEE ADOPTS PLAN FOR LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES
Idaho’s COVID-19 vaccine advisory committee approved a plan Friday to allow those staying in long-term care facilities or working at those care facilities to be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine if the state accumulates enough immunizations to cover 50% of that group.
During a meeting Friday, the committee outlined how health care personnel would be the first group of people to receive coronavirus vaccines. When put to a vote, 31 members of the advisory committee voted in favor of adopting the plan to start distributing vaccines to those in long-term care facilities upon hitting the threshold.
As of Friday, state officials are expecting to receive 13,650 doses of a coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer once it is approved in the first week, though the figure could change. Though Pfizer’s immunization requires two shots of a vaccine, officials pointed out that the number outlined accounts for both shots. The number of doses available to Idaho will increase as the weeks progress, and the state is expecting to receive vaccines from Moderna as well.
Coronavirus deaths at long-term care facilities have accounted for a large portion of the state’s overall death count. As of Friday, at least 458 of Idaho’s 1,038 COVID-19 deaths have been associated with such facilities, according to a report from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
The vaccine advisory committee will have its next meeting at noon Dec. 18.
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 11 to 283 overall, total individual cases jumped by 655 (6,116 total) and deaths rose by 62 to 458, with 21 facilities recording their first death.
Active cases increased to 5,295 at 216 facilities — up from 4,617 at 200 facilities last week. There are 67 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, Power County Nursing Home; Ammon: Promontory Point Rehabilitation, Crystal Creek Assisted Living; Ashton: Ashton Memorial Living Center; Bellevue: Cove of Cascadia; Bingham: Gables Assisted Living of Blackfoot II; Blackfoot: Syringa Chalet Nursing Facility, Gables Assisted Living of Blackfoot 1, Willows Retirement & Assisted Living, Gem Village Assisted Living, Bingham Memorial Skilled Nursing;
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, Edgewood Castle Hills, 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, Ashley Manor-Cloverdale, Regency Columbia Village, Communicare No. 3 Pond, Grace Assisted Living at Englefield Green, Ashley Manor-Cory Lane (formerly AarenBrooke Place), Cottages of Boise, Life Care of Treasure Valley, Grace Assisted Living at State St., Boise Group Home No. 1 Pennfield, Avamere Transitional Care, Riverview Rehabilitation, Boise Group Home No. 3 Holt, Boise Group Home No. 2 Molly Court, Boise Group Home No. 4 Eshelman, Park Place Assisted Living of Boise, Ashley Manor-Harmony, Good Samaritan Society-Boise Village, Trinity Assisted Living;
Bonners Ferry: Boundary County Nursing Home, Community Restorium, Sunset Home Assisted Living; 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, Highland Estates; Caldwell: Autumn Wind, Canyon West of Cascadia, Lenity Senior Living, Caldwell Care of Cascadia, Grace Assisted Living Caldwell, Gables Assisted Living of Caldwell; Challis: Diamond Peak Health Care of Challis; Chubbuck: Brookdale Chubbuck, Ashley Manor-Hawthorne; 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, Courtyard at Coeur d’Alene, Rose Terrace Cottages, Legends Park Assisted Living, Renaissance at Coeur d’Alene, Garden at Orchard Ridge, Bristol Heights Assisted Living, Brookdale Coeur d’Alene;
Darlington: Antelope Creek Living Center; Eagle: Edgewood Spring Creek Eagle Island, Foxtail Senior Living, Paramount Parks; Emmett: River’s Edge Rehab, Meadow View Assisted Living, Apple Valley Residence; Gooding: Bennett Hills Rehab & Care Center; Grangeville: Meadowlark Homes, Grangeville Health & Rehab Center; Hagerman: Stonebridge Assisted Living of Hagerman; Hailey: Silvercreek Assisted Living; Hayden: Wellspring Meadows, Harmony House Assisted Living, Peterson Place Assisted Living; Homedale: Owyhee Health & Rehab; 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, Turtle and Crane Assisted Living, Broadway Hills, MorningStar of Idaho Falls;
Jerome: Ashley Manor-Lincoln, Creekside Care Center, Desano Place Assisted Living; Kellogg: Mountain Valley of Cascadia; Kimberly: Oak Creek, Ashley Manor-Buttercup Trail, Alpine Manor; Kootenai: Hearthstone Village; Kuna: Swan Falls Assisted Living, Communicare No. 5 Kuna; Lewiston: Prestige-The Orchards, Life Care Center of Lewiston, Advanced Health Care of Lewiston, Lewiston Transitional Care of Cascadia, Brookdale Lewiston, State Veterans Home-Lewiston, Guardian Angel Homes Lewiston, Pleasant Valley Shelter Home, Wedgewood Terrace, Royal Plaza-Lewiston; Malad: Oneida Long Term Care Facility; 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, Trinity at 1st Street, Meridian Meadows, Alpine Meadows Assisted Living, Harmony Hills, Golden Years Kimra;
Montpelier: Bear Lake Memorial Skilled Nursing; Moscow: Good Samaritan Society-Moscow Village, Aspen Park of Cascadia; Mountain Home: Country Living Retirement of Mountain Home, Cottages of Mountain Home; Nampa: Meadow View Nursing & Rehab, Streamside Assisted Living, Grace Assisted Living-Nampa, Karcher Estates, Sunny Ridge (Skilled Nursing), Cascadia of Nampa, Southwest Idaho Treatment Center, Orchards of Cascadia, Wellspring of Cascadia, Park Place Assisted Living, Heron Place; Orofino: Clearwater Health & Rehab of Cascadia, Brookside Landing; Payette: Payette Healthcare of Cascadia; Pocatello: Brookdale Pocatello, Caring Hearts Assisted Living, State Veterans Home-Pocatello, Independence Home, Elegant Residential Living, Monte Vista Hills, Gables of Pocatello 1, Copper Summit Assisted Living, Pocatello Assisted Living Center-Willard House, Diamond Peak of Pocatello, Quail Ridge, Gateway Transitional Care Center, Gables Assisted Living of Pocatello II;
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, Life Care of Post Falls, The Bridge at Post Falls; 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, The Wildflower of Rigby; Rupert: Countryside Care and Rehab, Autumn Haven Assisted Living, Vista Assisted Living (now Etosha Assisted Living); Salmon: Discovery Rehab and Living; Sandpoint: Life Care Center of Sandpoint, Luther Park at Sandpoint, Valley Vista Care-Sandpoint; Shelley: Diamond Peak of Shelley; Shoshone: Lincoln County Care Center, Desano Place Shoshone;
Soda Springs: Caribou Memorial Living Center; St. Anthony: Homestead Assisted Living-St. Anthony; St. Maries: Valley Vista Care-St. Maries; Twin Falls: Brookdale Twin Falls, Serenity Transitional Care, Chardonnay Assisted Living, Twin Falls Care of Cascadia, Heritage Assisted Living, Ashley Manor-Parkview, The Canyons Retirement Community, Clear Creek Home, Campus View Home, Syringa Place, Grace Assisted Living-Twin Falls, Blake View Home, Willow Place Assisted Living, Rosetta of Twin Falls; Weiser: Weiser Care of Cascadia; Wendell: Stonebridge Assisted Living of Wendell; Winchester: Lakeside Assisted Living.
DAILY DETAILS
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 4,342 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, 805 admissions to the ICU and 5,388 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 Dec. 3, the health system was reporting 147 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 517 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 20%.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of Dec. 3, the health system was reporting 95 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 327 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 27.3%.
Boise School District: The district says the following schools or units have reported confirmed COVID-19 cases among students or staff since Dec. 1 : District Services (5), Monroe Elementary (1), Pierce Park Elementary (1), Riverglen Junior High (1), Taft Elementary (1), Trail Wind Elementary (1), Whitney Elementary (2).
West Ada School District: The district says the following schools or units have reported confirmed COVID-19 cases among students or staff for Nov. 21-Dec. 4: Centennial High (13), Central Academy (1), Eagle Academy (4), Eagle High (10), Idaho Fine Arts (1), Meridian Academy (2), Meridian High (19), Mountain View High (23), Renaissance High (10), Rocky Mountain High (22), Crossroads Middle (1), Eagle Middle (5), Heritage Middle (10), Lake Hazel Middle (10), Lewis and Clark Middle (10), Lowell Scott Middle (4), Meridian Middle (6), Sawtooth Middle (6), Star Middle (4), Victory Middle (6), Barbara Morgan STEM (3), Cecil D. Andrus Elementary (4), Chaparral Elementary (1), Chief Joseph School of the Arts (3), Christine Donnell (5), Desert Sage Elementary (5), Discovery Elementary (1), Eagle Hills Elementary (1), Frontier Elementary (1), Galileo STEM Academy (1), Hillsdale Elementary (4), Hunter Elementary (3), Mary McPherson (2), Meridian Elementary (3), Paramount Elementary (3), Pepper Ridge Elementary (3), Pioneer School of the Arts (3), Pleasant View Elementary (2), Ponderosa Elementary (5), Prospect Elementary (4), Seven Oaks Elementary (1), Siena Elementary (3), Silver Sage Elementary (1), Star Elementary (1), Ustick Elementary (1), Willow Creek Elementary (2).
Testing totals: At the end of the day Wednesday, Health and Welfare reported that 487,460 people had been tested statewide. About 18.8% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 23,919, Adams 99, Bannock 2,953, Bear Lake 164, Benewah 278, Bingham 1,929, Blaine 1,280, Boise 121, Bonner 978, Bonneville 6,177, Boundary 179, Butte 112, Camas 41, Canyon 14,720, Caribou 267, Cassia 2,040, Clark 41, Clearwater 503, Custer 140, Elmore 714, Franklin 578, Fremont 696, Gem 851, Gooding 752, Idaho 714, Jefferson 1,309, Jerome 1,633, Kootenai 7,507, Latah 1,729, Lemhi 376, Lewis 203, Lincoln 301, Madison 3,995, Minidoka 1,622, Nez Perce 2,300, Oneida 122, Owyhee 666, Payette 1,460, Power 378, Shoshone 534, Teton 432, Twin Falls 5,820, Valley 226, Washington 664.
