Region's positivity rate skyrockets

The coronavirus positivity rate in the region is among the highest it has been.

In Bonner County, the positivity rate was 31% with 930 tests for the week ending Jan. 15. Kootenai County saw its rates hit the highest yet, 39.5%, based on 3,697 PCR tests for the week ending Jan. 15. In Boundary County, the positivity rate for that time period was 17.4% based on 172 PCR tests; in Shoshone County it was 40.5% based on 173 PCR tests and in Benewah County it was 27.9 based on 111 PCR tests.

Less than a month ago, positivity rates in the were in the single digits.

The Panhandle Health District’s positivity rate was 37% based on 5,083 PCR tests, while the state of Idaho’s climbed to 34.1% based on nearly 50,000 PCR tests.

Camas County had the state's highest positivity rate, 45%, but that was based on just 20 tests.

Health officials have said most new cases are attributed to the omicron variant, a milder but more contagious variant than delta before it. Twenty omicron cases have now been identified in Kootenai County, according to the state’s website.

In Bonner County, the main variant continues to be delta with only one omicron case reported. There have been no omicron cases reported in Boundary or Benewah counties while there have been nine omicron cases in Shoshone County.

As of Jan. 17, 358 people in Idaho are hospitalized with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. Seventy-four people statewide with confirmed COVID-19 cases are in intensive care, while 14 pediatric patients with confirmed COVID-19 are hospitalized.

Katherine Hoyer, PHD spokeswoman, said that as of Wednesday, 75 of the 92 hospitalized in the PHD were unvaccinated. The ages range from 20s to 90s, with the average age being 68.

Nearly 70,000 people are fully vaccinated in Kootenai County, which is about 42% of its population. Just over 18,000 people are fully vaccinated in Bonner County, about 46% of its total population. In Boundary County, just over 4,000 people are vaccinated, or 40%; in Shoshone County, there are 5,260 people vaccinated, about 48% of the population; and in Benewah County, over 4,200 people are vaccinated, or about 43% of the population.

Testing and results remain an issue.

The state reported about 33,500 outstanding positive laboratory results are pending local public health district review and follow up. PHD reported it had a backlog of 3,200 cases.