Data backlog obscures true nature of Boise area s COVID-19 outbreak; 29 new deaths reported Chadd Cripe and Rachel Roberts, The Idaho Statesman
Dec. 17 The data dashboard for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare shows Ada County s COVID-19 incidence rate as one of the best in the state.
The daily number of new cases reported shows a raging outbreak.
The problem is that Central District Health has been inundated with so many cases that it s nearly two weeks and more than 2,500 case reports behind in its data tracking.
That means many of the 325 new confirmed cases reported Wednesday in Ada County were actually from early December. They are added to IDHW s data on the day they were originally reported to public health, so they don t hit the chart showing the county s cases per day per 100,000 people over the last seven days.
Health and Welfare adds COVID-19 vaccine tracker; Idaho reports more than 1,800 new cases
and last updated 2020-12-15 21:49:59-05
The public can now keep track of how many COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Idaho using the tracker posted on the Idaho Department of Health and Welfareâs website.
On Monday, health care workers at Madison Memorial Hospital in Rexburg were the first Idahoans to receive the new Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. As of Tuesday, 38 vaccine doses had been administered statewide, according to IDHW.
Hospitals throughout Idaho are expecting to receive their first vaccine shipments this week. These shipments are designated for hospital staff and outpatient clinic staff who provide care for COVID-19 patients, according to Health and Welfare.
Record positivity rates reported across Idaho as COVID-19 cases continue to soar Nicole Foy, The Idaho Statesman
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Idaho continues to worsen by nearly every metric the state uses to track it.
Thursday, updated positivity rates reported by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and local health districts broke records again. Roughly 20% of Idahoans tested were positive for the coronavirus last week, up from 18.3% the previous week. That means roughly one of every five Idahoans tested had the coronavirus last week.
Positivity rates for four of the state’s seven health districts also broke records. Boise-based Central District Health reported 18.5% positivity, health districts based in Coeur d’Alene (Panhandle) and Lewiston (North Central) reported 24% and 21.6% positivity rates and the Southeastern Idaho Public Health District based in Pocatello recorded a 15.5% positivity rate. Eastern Idaho Public Health District was at a