Idaho adds 1,461 COVID cases, 21 deaths on day Biden issues sweeping vaccine mandates

Idaho Statesman - 9/9/2021

Sep. 10—Idaho's test positivity rate rose for the 11th straight week, it was announced Thursday, and the state added 1,461 COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths, according to updated data from the Department of Health and Welfare.

The hospitalization news is also bad, with at least 80 more people hospitalized than during last winter's coronavirus peak.

The test positivity rate, a measure of the pandemic's community spread, hit 14.5% for the week beginning Aug. 29, the most recent date available. During the week beginning June 13, it was only 2.8%. Anything above 5% indicates there is little to no control over the spread of the virus.

Of the deaths added Thursday, four came in Ada County and three in Canyon County. Those two counties, along with Kootenai in North Idaho, continued to add the most cases.

With the COVID-19 outbreak showing no sign of relenting in Idaho and several other states, the Biden administration moved on Thursday to substantially expand nationwide vaccine mandates, which could have far-reaching effects.

The new federal rules will require all employers with more than 100 workers to require COVID-19 vaccinations or test employees weekly. That move is expected to affect about 80 million Americans, while around 17 million health care workers at places that receive Medicare or Medicaid also will face vaccine requirements.

In a second shift, also announced Thursday, Biden will require vaccinations — with no testing option — for all executive branch employees and federal contractors, which includes several million people.

Across the country, nearly 38% of Americans 12 or older are still unvaccinated, despite widespread availability. In Idaho, more than 50% of those eligible are unvaccinated, and those patients are overwhelming the state's health care system.

"We've been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us," President Biden said in a speech on Thursday. "We're going to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by increasing the share of the workforce that is vaccinated in businesses all across America."

It is unclear how the new rules will affect state and other local government employees in Idaho.

The state's 1,461 new cases on Thursday bring its total since last spring to 231,049, according to Health and Welfare. Of the day's cases, 212 were reported in Ada County, 189 in Canyon County and 274 in Kootenai County, which is in dire straits.

Crisis standards of care are currently active in Kootenai County because the region's hospitals are devastated by the deluge of COVID-19 patients. That means care has to be rationed, essentially.

"These are some of the sickest patients that I've taken care of," Dr. Robert Scoggins, of Kootenai Health in Coeur d'Alene, said at a press conference on Tuesday. "It's quite disturbing to see these patients declining. They're what I would consider healthy; they're what I would consider normal, everyday, healthy North Idaho people ... We've had patients with really no significant past medical history who have died from this delta variant."

As of Sept. 5, the most recent data available, there were 578 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 in Idaho, and 171 in an intensive care unit. During last winter's previous peak in early December, there were 496 and 122, respectively.

Saint Alphonsus Health System announced on Thursday that it is unable to provide tests for people not displaying COVID-19 symptoms in its emergency rooms in Boise, Nampa and Eagle due to the influx of patients. Many pharmacies, clinics and other providers in the state have available tests.

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