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
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Dec. 10 - 6:20 p.m.
Idaho added 1,435 confirmed and 390 probable cases on Thursday for a daily total of 1,825 cases. There have been 98,885 confirmed and 19,143 probable cases over the course of the pandemic.
On Thursday, there were also 33 deaths added to the state on due to COVID-19, and the death count is now 1,136.
The test positivity rate in Idaho continues to climb. During the week ending on Dec. 5, 20% of the COVID-19 tests administered came back positive. Eastern Idaho Public Health District had the highest positivity rate in the state with 24.4% of tests coming back positive. Idaho Sets New Daily COVID-19 Infections Record For Second Day In A Row