Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. | EastIdahoNews.com File Photo
IDAHO FALLS – COVID-19 numbers may fall in the state, but not in eastern Idaho.
In fact, Bonneville County and Madison County are experiencing one of the biggest upsets in the entire country, according to the New York Times.
According to the national newspaper, Idaho Falls and Rexburg have the highest number of daily new cases per 100,000 people in the country. The article showed the 20 best cities in the United States, with a population of over 50,000 people, and the number of cases they have had in the past two weeks. Rexburg placed third on the list with 38.9 daily new cases per 100,000 people, and Idaho Falls took 55th place.
From The New York Times
“It is heartbreaking and unnecessary to have this level of illness and loss of life in this very late stage of the pandemic. ”
Eastern Idaho Public Health decided at a council meeting on March 4 that they would no longer issue public health orders, including mask mandates, to the provinces they oversee. But they will still report information on cases and hospitals for the provinces and rank them at different risk levels.
RELATED: EIPH Will No Longer Issue Mask Mandates – Encourages the Public to Take Personal Responsibility
Since their vote, the provinces of Bonneville and Madison – where Idaho Falls and Rexburg are located – have been placed in the EIPH’s COVID-19 Regional Response Plan at high risk, or orange level. To be placed on the moderate risk, or yellow, would normally have had a nationwide mask mandate until the recent vote of the Health Council. Bonneville Province has a population of nearly 120,000 people, and Madison Province has nearly 40,000.
“Unfortunately, while COVID-19 numbers continue to decline in the state, Bonneville County is experiencing the fastest increase in positive cases this year,” EIPH board chairman Bryon Reed said in a statement Tuesday. “It is heartbreaking and unnecessary to have this level of illness and loss of life at this very late stage of the pandemic.”
Reed continues to advocate for personal responsibility when it comes to reducing the number of cases.
“We as a community know what needs to be done to stop this rapid spread of disease, and it does not have to be a health order,” he continued. ‘By following the Eastern Idaho health guidelines, we can stop this sudden increase in cases. It will protect lives, our hospital system and our local economy. ”
EIPH incident report in Bonneville County
EIPH Incident Report in Madison County
EIPH said there were 94 new cases in Bonneville County on Wednesday, March 17, with an active rate of 47.40 cases per 10,000 people. Madison Country had 27 new cases with an active rate of 35.30 cases per 10,000. Two weeks ago, on March 3 – the day before the Health Council’s vote to end mandates – Bonneville Province had 60 new cases and an active rate of 24.10 cases per 10,000. Madison has 17 new cases had an active rate of 21.30 cases per 10,000, according to the EIPH data.
As of Wednesday, there are 564 active cases in Bonneville County with 39 residents admitted to the hospital, and 141 active cases in Madison County with six residents admitted to the hospital.
Since mid-March 2020, EIPH has said 226 people in the district have died from COVID-19 – and half a dozen deaths have been in the past two weeks. Most were in Bonneville County.
According to an Idaho state profile report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force sent on March 12, new cases have increased in the eastern Idaho area over the past month.
Health officials say deaths are not the biggest concern with COVID-19. The vast majority of people who contract the virus will recover at home without any problems. But enough people are getting seriously ill that overwhelming hospitals are a real possibility – even if we are close to what the end of the pandemic appears to be.
Dr. Kenneth Krell, director of the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center’s ICU, told EastIdahoNews.com that his usual ICU capacity is 29 individuals. On Wednesday, it was occupied at 30 beds after overflow options were used. Ten to 12 of the patients are in the ICU due to COVID-19. Some patients waited in the emergency room until a bed in the ICU opened.
“We have managed to look after everyone without leading patients, which we try very hard not to do,” he said. ‘Three weeks ago we did not try to get a patient out of the unit to get another one in. We were not as stretched as we are now. ‘
Natalie Podgorski, a spokeswoman for the Idaho Falls Community Hospital, said they had hospitalized 18 patients with COVID-19, six of them in their ICU. They still have the ability to accept more patients, but their beds are filling up as cases in the country continue to increase.
‘The most important thing the public can do is to do not allow their COVID fatigue to improve their common sense. ”
There are, however, multiple explanations for the increase in business and business rates. Experts like Krell said that the fact that safety recommendations such as wearing masks or proper social distance are not essential greatly increases the problem.
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“The most important thing the public can do is not let their COVID fatigue pass in their common sense and what we need to do to get through the next immediate period,” Krell said. “We have the potential to be normal again at least in the summer, but we do not want patients to die unnecessarily in the meantime.”
Although EIPH does not grant mandates across its provinces, provincial officials, city officials or private enterprises can still enforce their own mandates if they see fit.
In Madison County, Brigham Young University-Idaho on Wednesday announced that the school – a private organization – will continue to enforce COVID-19 safety protocols, including campus masks and classroom social distance, despite the removal of the mandate of the EIPH.
Mandates or not, EIPH emphasizes the importance of individuals choosing to do what they can to help the community move forward towards a safer future.
“Please take the necessary action within your own lives, businesses and schools to stop this rapid spread of the virus in our community,” Reed said.
Get the latest COVID-19 numbers here.