ADA COUNTY, Idaho — Recent COVID-19 testing of incarcerating residents and staff at the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) in Kuna has increased the recent amount of positive cases in the county, according to Central District Health (CDH) in a news release. The first positive case of an incarcerated person was reported on June 24 and IDOC has reported 592 cases; 297 of which have been received and logged by CDH at the time of the release.
On July 13, CDH started publishing IDOC-related cases among incarcerated people in a separate line from Kuna case counts in the weekly data. That data is updated on Mondays and Thursdays at 12 p.m.
“Though we’ve seen widespread community transmission in Ada and neighboring Canyon County for some time now, we want residents to have a clearer picture of the source of some of these recent cases. Positive cases in both incarcerated individuals and facility staff contribute to an increased risk of transmission in our community which could translate to increased demands on our healthcare system,” said Russ Duke, District Director for Central District Health.
Positive COVID-19 cases are reported for a person's county of residence. For those incarcerated, the county where they are serving their sentence is considered their county of residence for illness reporting purposes. CDH says more positive cases are likely as IDOC continues mass testing among staff and residents. CDH says they will work with IDOC to identify affected staff and residents and ensure they receive information for any necessary quarantine or isolation.
IDOC provides regular testing and status reports, including case counts within its facilities, and information for the public on its website. They also post information on their Facebook page.
