The coronavirus infection rate continues to climb in Idaho and mask requirements are also on the rise.
In southwest Idaho, the Boise School District has reinstated a mask mandate for the coming school year, and the Ada County Courthouse is beginning requiring masks on certain levels of the building this week. And Boise Mayor Lauren McLean is requiring masks in all city facilities.
The changes come as the state saw its fifth straight week of surging case numbers. The seven-day moving average of new daily cases has increased more than 900 percent since July 5th. According to data from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, on Friday, the average was 515.3 cases per day. On July 5th, it was 49.7.
The state’s test positivity rate — an indicator used by public health experts to measure community spread — is at levels last seen in mid-January. The rate, now at 10.7 percent for the week of July 25-31, is more than double the benchmark of 5 percent that many health experts use to measure control of a virus.
Hospitalizations have also risen sharply, with the number of Idaho beds filled at levels last seen in early February, and the number of ICU patients at a level last seen in mid-January.
In the past few weeks, doctors and hospital administrators have increasingly implored residents to get vaccinated against the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the vaccines are safe and effective, and data released in July from Health and Welfare showed 99 percent of hospitalizations, deaths and cases recorded since January 1st have been in unvaccinated people.
According to Health and Welfare, only 46.3 percent of Idahoans 12 and older have been fully vaccinated, which is significantly lower than the nationwide average of 58.4 percent. (Idaho Statesman)
