A week of encouraging Idaho coronavirus trends

Idaho’s coronavirus trends all moved in the right direction last week.

New case numbers continued to head downward — across the state and in schools as well.

This week’s numbers:

Cases: A fourth consecutive weekly decrease.

The state and its health districts still added 9,131 cases last week, but that represents a 20% decrease.

The state has reported 423,756 confirmed or probable coronavirus cases.

Case backlog: Dwindling.

“Data for January are incomplete,” the state reported on its coronavirus website Sunday. “Due to the surge in cases Jan. 10-Feb. 5, approximately 17,000 outstanding positive laboratory results received during that time are pending local public health district review and followup.”

A week ago, the backlog was 25,700 cases.

Child cases: A fourth successive weekly decrease.

For the week ending Saturday, 1,332 school-age children contracted coronavirus, an 18% decrease.

By comparison, nearly 3,000 school-age children contracted coronavirus in the seven-day period ending Jan. 29.

Positive test rate: A fourth consecutive week of sharp decreases.

For the week ending Feb. 19, 10% of coronavirus tests came back positive, down from 16.4%.

As this rate continues to decline, it moves closer to the 5% mark — a threshold that suggests a virus is under control.

Hospitalizations: Another week of decreases across the board.

On Wednesday, Idaho reported 276 COVID-19 hospitalizations, a 27% decrease.

The state counted 62 ICU admissions, down 28%.

Six children were in pediatric beds with COVID-19, down from 10 the previous week.

Deaths: Also declining sharply.

While 54 Idahoans died of COVID-19 last week, that is a 56% decrease from the preceding week.

Idaho’s COVID-19 death toll now stands at 4,730.

Vaccinations: Current vaccination rates, and weekly comparisons.

  • All Idahoans, ages 5 and up: 53.8%. (Last week, 53.6%.)
  • 5- to 11-year-olds: 15%. (Unchanged.)
  • 12- to 15-year-olds: 37%. (Unchanged.)
  • 16- and 17-year-olds: 42%. (Unchanged.)
  • 18- to 24-year-olds: 50% (Unchanged.)

Here are the latest booster shot rates:

  • All age groups: 43.9%. (Last week: 43.6%.)
  • 12- to 15-year-olds: 13.9%. (Last week: 13.1%.)
  • 16- and 17-year-olds: 21.1%. (Last week: 20.3%.)
  • 18- to 24-year-olds: 19.8%. (Last week: 19.5%.)

K-12 thumbnails

  • Blaine County: Five active student cases last week. The district reported a total of six cases the previous week.
  • Boise: 53 positive cases last week, down from 69.
  • Bonneville: No new data available.
  • Coeur d’Alene: One district with an increase. 18 positive cases last week, up from 12.
  • Idaho Falls: One confirmed case for the week ending Feb. 18, down from five.
  • Kuna: 10 positive cases Friday, down from 23 the previous week.
  • Moscow: One new case last week, down from five.
  • Nampa: 13 cases last week, down from 29.
  • Pocatello-Chubbuck: Five cases reported Friday, two involving students. A decrease from a total of eight cases.
  • Twin Falls: No new data available.
  • West Ada: Two active cases, for a five-day period ending Sunday, down from four the previous week.

Higher education thumbnails

  • Boise State University: Seven cases, down from 44 cases the previous week. Of the new cases, five involved off-campus students and two involved faculty and staff. No students in campus isolation beds. No positive test results last week, from a total of 178 tests administered.
  • Brigham Young University-Idaho: One active case Sunday, involving an employee.
  • College of Eastern Idaho: Two cases, both involving students. CEI reported a total of six cases the previous week.
  • College of Idaho: Five cases in the past week, up from four the previous week. (229 for the year). One student in isolation off-campus.
  • College of Southern Idaho: Three new cases last week, two involving students. CSI reported a total of three new cases the previous week.
  • College of Western Idaho: No recent cases, down from five the previous week. (Monthly total: 16.)
  • Idaho State University: 17 cases for the week ending Tuesday, down from 37 the previous week. Fifteen current cases involve students.
  • Lewis-Clark State College: Two active student cases Friday, down from three the previous week.
  • North Idaho College: NIC is reporting no current cases.
  • Northwest Nazarene University: Two active cases reported last week, unchanged from the preceding week. One active case involves a student, the other involves an employee.
  • University of Idaho: Six reported cases for the week ending Feb. 18, down from 17 the previous week.

 

 

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 35 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. He can be reached at [email protected]

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