This article was originally written by Nicole Blanchard for the Idaho Statesmen.
Idaho’s COVID-19 case counts continued to fall Saturday, bringing the state’s seven-day moving average of confirmed and probable cases even lower than in recent days and prompting state health officials to suspend data reporting on Sundays.
Statewide, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and local health districts reported 229 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Saturday, along with 67 probable cases, for a total of 296 cases Saturday.
In recent weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases has dropped since reaching a peak of more than 1,500 per day in mid-December. By Saturday, the state’s seven-day moving average of confirmed and probable cases was 479.6 cases per day — the lowest since Oct. 3.
The declining numbers prompted Health and Welfare to announce on Twitter on Friday evening that it would no longer report COVID-19 data on Sundays. The agency made a similar move last summer when case counts decline. Sunday numbers will now be reported with Mondays totals.
Nearly half of Saturday’s confirmed cases were reported in Ada County, which added 105 cases to its pandemic total of 37,939. Ada County’s seven-day moving average has also plummeted in the last month, down to an average of 110 cases per day by Saturday. In December, the county’s weekly average hit a record of more than 400 cases each day.
Officials subtracted one case in Bingham County (2,476 total).
The following counties also reported new cases Saturday: Bannock (13 new, 4,405 total), Benewah (1 new, 415 total), Blaine (8 new, 1,768 total), Boise (1 new, 220 total), Bonner (19 new, 2,185 total), Bonneville (7 new, 8,404 total), Canyon (27 new, 20,151 total), Cassia (3 new, 2,385 total), Elmore (5 new, 1,173 total), Franklin (5 new, 808 total), Fremont (1 new, 842 total), Gem (3 new, 1,288 total), Gooding (1 new, 892 total), Jefferson (3 new, 1,682 total), Jerome (2 new, 1,904 total), Lincoln (1 new, 367 total), Madison (7 new, 5,134 total), Minidoka (1 new, 1,870 total), Oneida (2 new, 208 total), Payette (1 new, 1,846 total), Power (2 new, 443 total), Shoshone (1 new, 908 total), Teton (3 new, 583 total), Twin Falls (7 new, 6,828 total) and Washington (1 new, 835 total).
DAILY DETAILS
Vaccine doses administered in Idaho: 120,391, according to Health and Welfare. Of those, 76,973 people have received only their first dose.
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 6,674 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, 1,169 admissions to the ICU and 8,788 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 Jan. 30, the health system was reporting 41 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 447 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 8%.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of Jan. 30, the health system was reporting 39 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 227 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 12.1%.
Testing totals: At the end of the day Saturday, Health and Welfare reported that 603,115 people had been tested statewide. About 22% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Boise School District: Reported positive cases since Jan. 19: Adams Elementary (1), Boise High (1), Borah High (5), Capital High (4), East Junior High (4), Garfield Elementary (1), Hawthorne Elementary (1), Hillside Junior High (2), Lowell Elementary (1), Monroe Elementary (1), Pierce Park Elementary (1), Riverglen Junior High (2), Riverside Elementary (1), Shadow Hills Elementary (3), South Junior High (3), Taft Elementary (1), Timberline High School (2), West Junior High (1), Whittier Elementary (1).
West Ada School District: Reported cases from Jan. 16-29: Centennial High (4), Eagle High (2), Meridian High (1), Mountain View High (6), Rocky Mountain High (2), Eagle Middle (2), Heritage Middle (3), Lowell Scott Middle (2), Meridian Middle (1), Sawtooth Middle (1), Star Middle (1), Barbara Morgan STEM Academy (1), Desert Sage Elementary (1), Frontier Elementary (1), Pioneer School of the Arts (5), Seven Oaks Elementary (1), Siena Elementary (1), Silver Sage Elementary (1), Summerwind STEM (1).
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 37,939, Adams 237, Bannock 4,405, Bear Lake 235, Benewah 415, Bingham 2,476, Blaine 1,768, Boise 220, Bonner 2,185, Bonneville 8,404, Boundary 347, Butte 149, Camas 49, Canyon 20,151, Caribou 326, Cassia 2,385, Clark 44, Clearwater 741, Custer 175, Elmore 1,173, Franklin 808, Fremont 842, Gem 1,288, Gooding 892, Idaho 869, Jefferson 1,682, Jerome 1,904, Kootenai 13,950, Latah 2,373, Lemhi 395, Lewis 274, Lincoln 367, Madison 5,134, Minidoka 1,870, Nez Perce 2,995, Oneida 208, Owyhee 849, Payette 1,846, Power 443, Shoshone 908, Teton 583, Twin Falls 6,828, Valley 578, Washington 835.
