COVID-19 Update: October 22, 2021

The statewide test positivity rate, or percentage of tests that come back positive, has dropped to about 12 percent, down from this surge’s high of 17 percent. That’s still higher than what public health officials would like to see, but this is the fifth week in a row those numbers have dropped. Hospitalizations have also dropped from a late September peak, though the number of patients currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 is still much higher than it was during last December’s surge. Some hospitals across the state continue to operate under crisis standards of care, and fully staffed adult ICU beds are still limited, with 15 or fewer available daily over the last week. North Idaho has the highest concentration of COVID cases right now, with public health district one reporting a test positivity rate of 20 percent. Currently, Boundary, Lewis, Power, Shoshone and Kootenai counties are reporting the highest seven-day rolling average case rates. This week, Idaho Reports spoke to a Nampa mother about her toddler’s fight against a nearly fatal COVID-19 infection. Visit the Idaho Reports blog at idahoptv.org/idahoreports to read her story.