This article was originally written by Nicole Blanchard for the Idaho Statesman.
Idaho reported 546 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, the lowest tally in six weeks, at the same time it ended the deadliest week thus far in the pandemic.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare on Sunday reported 510 new confirmed and 36 new probable cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus. It’s the lowest number of new cases reported in a single day since Nov. 1, when the state reported 476 confirmed and probable cases.
Throughout the pandemic, Sundays have typically seen lower case counts as some health districts don’t appear to report new data to the state, nor does any health district other than Eastern Idaho Public Health report its own numbers publicly on Sundays.
At the same time, health officials reported six new COVID-19-related deaths: four in Canyon County (180 total), one in Gem County (12 total) and one in Payette County (20 total).
Since Monday, officials reported 138 new COVID-19 deaths, setting a record as the state’s deadliest week thus far in the pandemic. The previous deadliest week was just one week prior, when 116 Idahoans were reported dead due to COVID-19. To date, 1,179 Idaho residents have died of the disease.
As of Sunday, health officials had reported a total of 19,702 probable coronavirus cases and a total of 101,543 confirmed coronavirus cases.
The following Idaho counties reported new COVID-19 cases on Sunday: Ada (183 new, 27,269 total), Adams (2 new, 110 total), Bear Lake (1 new, 173 total), Benewah (6 new, 301 total), Bingham (1 new, 2,087 total), Blaine (5 new, 1,364 total), Boise (2 new, 153 total), Bonner (4 new, 1,197 total), Bonneville (42 new, 6,905 total), Canyon (88 new, 16,038 total), Cassia (4 new, 2,147 total), Custer (1 new, 152 total), Fremont (5 new, 747 total), Gem (2 new, 968 total), Gooding (1 new, 796 total), Jefferson (15 new, 1,431 total), Jerome (9 new, 1,702 total), Kootenai (67 new, 9,024 total), Lemhi (2 new, 383 total), Lincoln (1 new, 319 total), Madison (31 new, 4,388 total), Minidoka (4 new, 1,675 total), Owyhee (1 new, 715 total), Payette (5 new, 1,545 total), Shoshone (5 new, 623 total), Teton (2 new, 447 total), Twin Falls (17 new, 6,036 total) and Valley (4 new, 256 total).
DAILY DETAILS
Overall hospitalizations: Health and Welfare reports that there have been 4,763 hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, 881 admissions to the ICU and 5,908 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. 12, the health system was reporting 122 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 426 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 17%.
Saint Alphonsus Health System: As of Dec. 12, the health system was reporting 98 patients in its hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 out of 275 patients overall. The health system reported a 14-day coronavirus test positivity rate of 25.8%.
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), DTEC (1), Frank Church High School (2), Hawthorne Elementary (2), Liberty Elementary (2), Lowell Elementary (1), Monroe Elementary (1), Pierce Park Elementary (1), Riverglen Junior High (1), South Jr. High (1), Taft Elementary (2), 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. 30-Dec. 13: Centennial High (21), Central Academy (1), Eagle Academy (5), Eagle High (18), Idaho Fine Arts (2), Meridian Academy (2), Meridian High (28), Mountain View High (30), Renaissance High (11), Rocky Mountain High (39), Crossroads Middle (1), Eagle Middle (8), Heritage Middle (11), Lake Hazel Middle (13), Lewis and Clark Middle (11), Lowell Scott Middle (7), Meridian Middle (8), Pathways Middle (2), Sawtooth Middle (10), Star Middle (5), Victory Middle (3), Barbara Morgan STEM (6), Cecil D. Andrus Elementary (2), Chaparral Elementary (1), Chief Joseph School of the Arts (5), Christine Donnell (5), Desert Sage Elementary (4), Discovery Elementary (3), Eagle Hills Elementary (2), Eliza Hart Spalding STEM (1), Frontier Elementary (1), Galileo STEM Academy (2), Hillsdale Elementary (2), Hunter Elementary (3), Joplin Elementary (1), Lake Hazel Elementary (1), Mary McPherson (1), Meridian Elementary (3), Paramount Elementary (3), Pioneer School of the Arts (3), Pleasant View Elementary (3), Ponderosa Elementary (4), Prospect Elementary (4), River Valley Elementary (3), Seven Oaks Elementary (1), Siena Elementary (3), Silver Sage Elementary (1), Star Elementary (1), Summerwind STEM Academy (1), Ustick Elementary (1), Willow Creek Elementary (3).
Testing totals: At the end of the day Saturday, Health and Welfare reported that 505,958 people had been tested statewide. About 20% of those have been positive for COVID-19.
Counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases: Ada 27,269, Adams 110, Bannock 3,326, Bear Lake 173, Benewah 301, Bingham 2,087, Blaine 1,364, Boise 153, Bonner 1,197, Bonneville 6,905, Boundary 206, Butte 118, Camas 42, Canyon 16,038, Caribou 270, Cassia 2,147, Clark 43, Clearwater 576, Custer 152, Elmore 829, Franklin 624, Fremont 747, Gem 968, Gooding 796, Idaho 756, Jefferson 1,431, Jerome 1,702, Kootenai 9,024, Latah 1,848, Lemhi 383, Lewis 237, Lincoln 319, Madison 4,388, Minidoka 1,675, Nez Perce 2,468, Oneida 156, Owyhee 715, Payette 1,545, Power 399, Shoshone 623, Teton 447, Twin Falls 6,036, Valley 256, Washington 694.
