This article was originally published by Rachel Roberts in the Idaho Statesman.
Ada and Kootenai counties accounted for more than half of Idaho’s new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.
The Gem State reported 855 new confirmed cases and 312 new probable cases for a total 1,167 cases, according to state and public health district data.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare added 349 new cases of COVID-19 to Ada County’s tally, bringing the county’s total to 31,485 overall. However, the county’s true caseload is still unclear as Boise-based Central District Health works through a significant backlog of cases. CDH estimates the 14-day average incidence rate in Ada dropped from 85 to 67 cases per 100,000 residents last week.
Kootenai County’s total increased by 117 cases Thursday to 10,709, according to Panhandle Health District. Only three other counties saw their caseloads increase by more than 20: Canyon (80 new, 17,361 total), Bannock (52 new, 3,702 total) and Bonneville (43 new, 7,509 total).
There were 10 new coronavirus-related deaths announced Thursday. Idaho has lost 1,353 residents to the virus with a case fatality rate of about 1%. The new deaths were added in Ada (3 new, 333 total), Canyon (3 new, 210 total), Cassia (1 new, 20 total), Kootenai (1 new, 108 total), Latah (1 new, 4 total) and Twin Falls (1 new, 112 total) counties.
The other counties adding new confirmed cases were: Adams (12 new, 177 total), Bear Lake (1 new, 190 total), Benewah (3 new, 338 total), Bingham (9 new, 2,217 total), Bonner (16 new, 1,526 total), Boundary (3 new, 244 total), Butte (1 new, 130 total), Caribou (2 new, 273 total), Cassia (7 new, 2,205 total), Clearwater (5 new, 613 total), Elmore (10 new, 975 total), Franklin (10 new, 701 total), Gem (11 new, 1,064 total), Gooding (2 new, 832 total), Idaho (2 new, 803 total), Jefferson (9 new, 1,528 total), Jerome (4 new, 1,743 total), Latah (8 new, 2,000 total), Lewis (2 new, 250 total), Lincoln (1 new, 338 total), Madison (8 new, 4,577 total), Minidoka (15 new, 1,743 total), Nez Perce (15 new, 2,720 total), Oneida (1 new, 174 total), Owyhee (3 new, 767 total), Payette (10 new, 1,647 total), Power (2 new, 418 total), Shoshone (5 new, 758 total), Teton (4 new, 471 total), Twin Falls (19 new, 6,231 total), Valley (10 new, 343 total), Washington (4 new, 741 total).
Idaho health officials have confirmed 112,499 infections statewide since the start of the pandemic. Health and Welfare has also reported 22,836 probable cases and estimates that 53,535 people have recovered from the virus.
Health and Welfare and the state’s seven public health districts will not post a COVID-19 update on Christmas. IDHW’s online data will next be updated on Saturday.
LONG-TERM CARE UPDATE
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare released its weekly update on COVID-19 in care facilities Thursday.
Outbreaks at Idaho facilities increased by five to 300 overall, total individual cases jumped by 292 (7,491 total) and deaths rose by 24 to 539, with five facilities recording their first death.
Active cases increased to 6,216 at 209 facilities — up from 6,139 at 217 facilities last week. There are 91 facilities with resolved outbreaks.
Below is a list of long-term care facilities by city that have active cases of the coronavirus:
American Falls: Power County Nursing Home; Ammon: Promontory Point Rehabilitation, Crystal Creek Assisted Living, Gables of Ammon; Bellevue: Cove of Cascadia; Bingham: Gables 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-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, Grace Memory Care, Edgewood Spring Creek Ustick, Basil Celany Living Center, Hettinger Living Center, BrightStar Care Homes-Taft, Independent Living Services-Summerwind, Boise Group Home No. 8 Delmar, MorningStar Memory Care at Englefield Green
Bonners Ferry: Sunset Home Assisted Living; Bonneville: New Beginnings Community Living; Burley: Parke View Rehab, Highland Estates, Rosetta of Burley; Caldwell: Autumn Wind, Canyon West of Cascadia, Lenity Senior Living, Caldwell Care of Cascadia, Grace Assisted Living Caldwell, Gables Assisted Living of Caldwell; Chubbuck: Brookdale Chubbuck, Ashley Manor-Hawthorne, Grace at Chubbuck; Coeur d’Alene: LaCrosse Health & Rehab, Advanced Health Care of Coeur d’Alene, Life Care Center of Coeur d’Alene, Coeur d’Alene Health and Rehab of Cascadia, Rose Terrace Cottages, Legends Park Assisted Living, Renaissance at Coeur d’Alene, Garden at Orchard Ridge, Bristol Heights Assisted Living, Brookdale Coeur d’Alene, Lodge at Fairway Forest, Creekside Inn Assisted Living; Darlington: Antelope Creek Living Center;
Eagle: Edgewood Spring Creek Eagle Island, Foxtail Senior Living, Paramount Parks, BrightStar Care Homes-Prickly Pear, Edgewood Eagle; Emmett: River’s Edge Rehab, Meadow View Assisted Living; Garden City: Garnet Place; Gooding: Bennett Hills Rehab & Care Center; Grangeville: Meadowlark Homes, Grangeville Health & Rehab Center; Hagerman: Stonebridge Assisted Living of Hagerman; Hayden: Wellspring Meadows, Peterson Place Assisted Living, Maplewood 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, Lincoln Court Retirement Community, Broadway Fields Assisted Living, Turtle and Crane Assisted Living, Broadway Hills, MorningStar of Idaho Falls, Tambree Meadows Assisted Living;
Jerome: Creekside Care Center, Desano Place Assisted Living; Kellogg: Mountain Valley of Cascadia; Kimberly: Oak Creek, Alpine Manor; 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, Cottages of McCall; 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, Tomorrow’s Hope-Deb;
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, Cascadia of Nampa, Southwest Idaho Treatment Center, Orchards of Cascadia, Wellspring of Cascadia, Heron Place, Communicare No. 1 Gem, Midland Manor; Orofino: Clearwater Health & Rehab of Cascadia, Brookside Landing; Payette: Payette Healthcare of Cascadia; Pocatello: Brookdale Pocatello, Caring Hearts Assisted Living, State Veterans Home-Pocatello, Elegant Residential Living, Monte Vista Hills, Gables of Pocatello 1, Copper Summit Assisted Living, Diamond Peak of Pocatello, Quail Ridge, Gateway Transitional Care Center, Gables of Pocatello II, Quinn Meadows Rehab & Care Center, Ashley Manor-Cedar;
Post Falls: The Lodge at Riverside Harbor, Life Care of Post Falls, The Bridge at Post Falls; Preston: Franklin County Transitional Care, Heritage Senior Living; Rathdrum: Generations Assisted Living; Rexburg: Temple View Transitional Care, Homestead Assisted Living Rexburg, Briarwood Assisted Living; Rigby: Rigby Country Living Center; Salmon: Discovery Rehab and Living; Sandpoint: Life Care Center of Sandpoint, Luther Park at Sandpoint, Valley Vista Care-Sandpoint; Shelley: Diamond Peak of Shelley, Gables 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, Campus View Home, Blake View Home, Willow Place Assisted Living, Rosetta of Twin Falls, Cenoma House, Bridgeview Estates, Grace Assisted Living-Twin Falls; Weiser: Weiser Care of Cascadia; Wendell: Stonebridge Assisted Living of Wendell; Winchester: Lakeside Assisted Living.
DAILY DETAILS
Vaccine doses administered in Idaho: 8,490, according to Health and Welfare.
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 5,357 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, 978 admissions to the ICU and 6,605 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. 23, the health system was reporting 83 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 422 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 13%.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of Dec. 23, the health system was reporting 77 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 369 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 23.3%.
Testing totals: At the end of the day Thursday, Health and Welfare reported that 534,632 people had been tested statewide. About 21% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 31,485, Adams 177, Bannock 3,702, Bear Lake 190, Benewah 338, Bingham 2,217, Blaine 1,422, Boise 180, Bonner 1,526, Bonneville 7,509, Boundary 244, Butte 130, Camas 42, Canyon 17,361, Caribou 273, Cassia 2,205, Clark 44, Clearwater 613, Custer 157, Elmore 975, Franklin 701, Fremont 763, Gem 1,064, Gooding 832, Idaho 803, Jefferson 1,528, Jerome 1,743, Kootenai 10,709, Latah 2,000, Lemhi 388, Lewis 250, Lincoln 338, Madison 4,577, Minidoka 1,743, Nez Perce 2,720, Oneida 174, Owyhee 767, Payette 1,647, Power 418, Shoshone 758, Teton 471, Twin Falls 6,231, Valley 343, Washington 741.
