This article was originally published by Nicole Foy and Rachel Roberts in the Idaho Statesman.
Idaho’s seven health districts and the Department of Health and Welfare reported 224 new confirmed coronavirus cases Friday. With just 93 new probable cases, the total stood at 315, holding the trend of lower case counts statewide.
However, the number of people hospitalized in Idaho with COVID-19 has slowly been rising again, although ICU admissions have remained mostly stable. On Wednesday, an estimated 162 people were hospitalized statewide with COVID-19, an increase from 156 on Tuesday, 143 on Monday, and just 136 people last Thursday.
Just 35 people were in intensive care units because of COVID-19 on Wednesday this week, according to hospitalization data from the state’s website.
Ada County’s short run of extremely low case counts ended Friday, with Health and Welfare reporting 83 new confirmed cases (39,575 total), but the county’s 14-day average still dipped again, to 62.5. Ada added just 97 cases combined the three previous days, including only 13 on Thursday.
Southwest District Health reported continued low numbers for Canyon County, adding just 21 cases Friday (20,914 total). Canyon’s 14-day caseload average has dipped to 27.6.
Other counties around the state are still posting higher case counts relative to their population. Bonneville County (8,867 total) and Madison County (5,544 total) in Eastern Idaho reported 31 and 15 new confirmed cases, respectively, on Friday.
Other counties reporting new cases Friday included: Bannock (5 new, 4,672 total), Bear Lake (2 new, 253 total), Benewah (2 new, 483 total), Bingham (2 new, 2,548 total), Blaine (2 new, 1,951 total), Bonner (5 new, 2,412 total), Boundary (2 new, 414 total), Butte (1 new, 163 total), Cassia (1 new, 2,438 total), Clearwater (1 new, 748 total), Custer (1 new, 178 total), Elmore (1 new, 1,247 total), Franklin (1 new, 858 total), Fremont (6 new, 890 total), Gem (2 new, 1,333 total), Jefferson (2 new, 1,801 total), Jerome (1 new, 1,955 total), Kootenai (18 new, 14,746 total), Latah (5 new, 2,575 total), Lewis (1 new, 278 total), Minidoka (1 new, 1,897 total), Nez Perce (3 new, 3,056 total), Owyhee (1 new, 878 total), Shoshone (1 new, 944 total), Twin Falls (7 new, 6,994 total).
An additional seven deaths linked to COVID-19 were also reported Friday in six counties: Ada (2 new, 434 total), Bonneville (1 new, 146 total), Bannock (1 new, 96 total), Kootenai (1 new, 181 total), Madison (1 new, 22 total) and Nez Perce (1 new, 52 total).
At least 138,749 Idahoans have tested positive for coronavirus and 1,862 Idahoans have died since the pandemic reached Idaho.
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 one, to 315 overall, while total individual cases grew by 57 (9,054 total) and deaths rose by 17, to 762, with one facility recording its first death.
Active cases decreased to 4,546 at 114 facilities — down from 5,244 at 132 facilities last week. There are 201 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; Ammon: Promontory Point Rehabilitation; Bellevue: Cove of Cascadia; Blackfoot: Gem Village Assisted Living, Willows Retirement & Assisted Living;
Boise: Terraces of Boise, Edgewood Spring Creek-Overland, Garden Plaza of Valley View-Valley View Nursing & Rehab, Garden Plaza of Valley View-The Bridge at Valley View, Willow Park Senior Living, Arbor Village at Hillcrest, State Veterans Home-Boise, MorningStar Senior Living of Boise, Edgewood Spring Creek Memory Care-Five Mile, Edgewood Plantation Place, Ashley Manor-Cloverdale, Grace Assisted Living at Englefield Green, Ashley Manor-Cory Lane (formerly AarenBrooke Place), Life Care of Treasure Valley, Avamere Transitional Care, Riverview Rehabilitation, Boise Group Home No. 2 Molly Court, Park Place Assisted Living of Boise, Ashley Manor-Harmony, Good Samaritan Society-Boise Village, Grace Memory Care, MorningStar Memory Care at Englefield Green, Ashley Manor-Elgin Way, Brookdale Boise Parkcenter, Regency Columbia Village, Independent Living Services Milclay;
Bonners Ferry: Boundary County Nursing Home; Buhl: Evergreen Place Assisted Living; Caldwell: Canyon West of Cascadia, Lenity Senior Living, Caldwell Care of Cascadia; Chubbuck: Brookdale Chubbuck, Grace at Chubbuck; Coeur d’Alene: 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, Garden at Orchard Ridge, Bristol Heights Assisted Living, Brookdale Coeur d’Alene, Lodge at Fairway Forest, Ivy Court, Renaissance at Coeur d’Alene, LaCrosse Health & Rehab, Creekside Inn Assisted Living; Eagle: Edgewood Spring Creek Eagle Island, Foxtail Senior Living, Paramount Parks, BrightStar Care Homes-Prickly Pear;
Emmett: Cottages of Emmett; Garden City: Emerson House at Riverpointe; Glenns Ferry: Poplar Grove Assisted Living; Hayden: Wellspring Meadows, Honeysuckle Senior Living; Idaho Falls: Life Care Center of Idaho Falls, Yellowstone Group Home No. 1, Parkwood Meadows, Lincoln Court Retirement Community; Jerome: Desano Place Assisted Living, Creekside Care Center; Kootenai: Hearthstone Village; Kuna: Swan Falls Assisted Living; Lewiston: Wedgewood Terrace, Brookdale Lewiston; McCall: McCall Rehab and Care Center; Meridian: Creekside Transitional Care, Touchmark at Meadow Lake Village, Meridian Meadows, Alpine Meadows Assisted Living, Harmony Hills, Tomorrow’s Hope-Deb, Aspen Transitional Rehab, Aspire-Elk Run, Veranda Senior Living-Paramount;
Middleton: Cottages of Middleton; Montpelier: Bear Lake Memorial Skilled Nursing; Mountain Home: Country Living Retirement of Mountain Home, Cottages of Mountain Home; Nampa: Meadow View Nursing & Rehab, Orchards of Cascadia, Wellspring of Cascadia, Heron Place, Aspire-Sunset Oaks; Orofino: Brookside Landing; Pocatello: Caring Hearts Assisted Living, Monte Vista Hills, Copper Summit Assisted Living, Gateway Transitional Care Center; Post Falls: Life Care of Post Falls, The Bridge at Post Falls, Guardian Angel Homes; Preston: Heritage Senior Living; Rathdrum: Generations Assisted Living;
Rexburg: Homestead Assisted Living Rexburg; Rigby: Rigby Country Living Center; Rupert: Countryside Care and Rehab; Sandpoint: Life Care Center of Sandpoint, Valley Vista Care-Sandpoint, Huckleberry Retirement Homes II, Lakeside Assisted Living; Shelley: Gables of Shelley; Silverton: Good Samaritan Society-Silver Wood Village; Soda Springs: Edgewood Spring Creek Soda Springs; St. Anthony: Homestead Assisted Living-St. Anthony; St. Maries: Valley Vista Care-St. Maries; Twin Falls: Serenity Transitional Care, Grace Assisted Living-Twin Falls, The Canyons Retirement Community; Weiser: Cottages of Weiser.
DAILY DETAILS
Vaccine doses administered in Idaho: 346,393, according to Health and Welfare. Of those, 120,089 people have received only their first dose.
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 7,057 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, 1,228 admissions to the ICU and 9,532 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 Feb. 25, the health system was reporting 14 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 445 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 4%.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of Feb. 25, the health system was reporting 25 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 337 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 9.4%.
Testing totals: Health and Welfare reported that 637,883 people had been tested statewide. About 21.7% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Boise School District: Reported confirmed cases since Feb. 16: Adams Elementary (1), Amity Elementary (2), Boise High (1), Borah High (5), Capital High (2), District Services (2), Fairmont Jr. High (1), Frank Church High (1), Hillside Jr. High (1), Les Bois Jr. High (1), North Jr. High (1), Riverglen Jr. High (3), Riverside Elementary (1), Roosevelt Elementary (1), South Jr. High (2), Taft Elementary (1), Timberline High (2), Trail Wind Elementary (2), West Junior High (6), Whittier Elementary (1).
West Ada School District: Reported confirmed cases for Feb. 13-26: Centennial High (2), Eagle High (7), Renaissance High (1), Rocky Mountain High (5), Lake Hazel Middle (1) Lewis and Clark Middle (1), Lowell Scott Middle (1), Meridian Middle (1) Pathways Middle (1), Victory Middle (1), Barbara Morgan STEM Academy (1), Cecil D. Andrus Elementary (1), Peregrine Elementary (2), Prospect Elementary (1).
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 39,575, Adams 251, Bannock 4,672, Bear Lake 253, Benewah 483, Bingham 2,548, Blaine 1,951, Boise 228, Bonner 2,412, Bonneville 8,867, Boundary 414, Butte 163, Camas 52, Canyon 20,914, Caribou 330, Cassia 2,438, Clark 44, Clearwater 748, Custer 178, Elmore 1,247, Franklin 858, Fremont 890, Gem 1,333, Gooding 912, Idaho 879, Jefferson 1,801, Jerome 1,955, Kootenai 14,746, Latah 2,575, Lemhi 401, Lewis 278, Lincoln 370, Madison 5,544, Minidoka 1,897, Nez Perce 3,056, Oneida 220, Owyhee 878, Payette 1,891, Power 457, Shoshone 944, Teton 614, Twin Falls 6,994, Valley 641, Washington 847.
