Ada County’s COVID-19 community transmission levels have moved into the “high” category, according to maps from the Idaho Department of Health and Wellness website.
BOISE, Idaho- This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Ada County’s COVID-19 community transmission levels have moved into the “high” category, according to maps from the Idaho Department of Health and Wellness website.
Ada County’s transmission levels have been particularly volatile over the past three weeks, hovering between “high” and “medium” designations, Boise Weekly’s Tracy Bringhurst recently reported.
However, this increase in cases does not necessarily create as great a strain on hospital resources as in the past, according to Taylor Reeves, public relations coordinator for St. Luke’s Health System.
“We continue to see significant community transmission and the number of reported cases is only a fraction of the actual number of cases, due to lack of testing or home testing that is not being reported,” Reeves said. in an email. “However, we do not see this translating into a significant increase in hospitalizations or intensive care hospitalizations.”
Reeves said while ICU hospitalizations for COVID-19 patients have roughly doubled in the past six weeks, St. Luke’s has had between zero and three ICU patients with COVID this same period.
According to the DHW, current inpatient bed utilization for COVID-19 patients at Ada County hospitals is 5.9% and COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 people are 11.9.
Currently, Ada County has a test positivity rate of 10.9%, according to DHW.
More than 98% of these positive cases were identified as the omicron variant of COVID-19.
This new data makes Ada County one of 627 counties in the United States to be in the “high” community transmission category, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Other counties in Idaho that are in the “high” level transmission rates are Elmore, Valley, Payette, Bear Lake, Idaho, Adams and Washington counties. Canyon County is at a “medium” level.
“We expect to continue to see these elevated case rates for at least several weeks,” Reeves said.
In communities with “high” levels of transmission, the CDC recommends wearing a mask indoors in public, keeping up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, and getting tested if you have symptoms. Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk of severe illness.
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Read more on IdahoPress.com
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