Coronavirus cases in K-12 schools continued to spike last week.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is reporting at least 485 new cases involving students and school employees.
That represents a 49 percent increase from the preceding week.
The state’s K-12 coronavirus hotspots are high schools — especially in the West Ada and Boise school districts. The Boise School Board Thursday voted to move all schools to online instruction after Thanksgiving break.
This week’s hotspots:
- Eagle High School: 22 cases for the week, 40 cases for the school year.
- Timberline High School, Boise: 19 cases for the week, 34 for the school year.
- Lewiston High School: 16 cases for the week, 45 for the school year.
- Borah High School, Boise: 16 cases for the week, 26 for the school year.
- Mountain View High School, Meridian: 13 cases for the week, 50 for the school year.
- Boise High School: 12 cases for the week, 25 for the school year.
- Rocky Mountain High School, Meridian: 12 cases for the week, 22 for the school year.
- Hillcrest High School, Ammon: 11 cases for the week, at least 31 for the school year.
Health and Welfare’s reports include student and staff cases. The list is not complete. Citing student privacy concerns, the state releases no data for schools with fewer than 50 students. In some cases, Health and Welfare reports only a school’s minimum case numbers.
At the district level, Boise has reported 200 confirmed or probable coronavirus cases since Nov. 3, compared to 84 cases in the preceding two weeks.
Numbers are also increasing in West Ada. The state’s largest district has reported 196 cases for the two-week period ending Saturday. Incident rates are also rising: West Ada’s high schools are reporting nearly 57 cases per 100,000 residents, compared to 48 cases per 100,000 residents in Ada County as a whole.
