Idaho Falls, Rexburg have some of worst recent COVID outbreaks in country
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IDAHO FALLS — COVID-19 numbers may be dropping around the state — but not in eastern Idaho.
In fact, Bonneville County and Madison County are experiencing one of the biggest surges in the entire country, according to the New York Times.
Idaho Falls and Rexburg have among the highest number of daily new cases per 100,000 people in the country, according to the national newspaper. The article showed the top 20 cities in the United States, with a population of over 50,000 people, and the number of cases they have had in the last two weeks. Rexburg placed third on the list with 38.9 daily new cases per 100,000 people, and Idaho Falls topped the list with 55.9.
“It is heartbreaking and unnecessary to have this level of sickness and loss of life at this very late stage of the pandemic.”
Eastern Idaho Public Health decided in a board meeting on March 4 that it would no longer issue public health orders, including mask mandates, for the counties they oversee. But they still will report case and hospital information for the counties and rank them in different risk levels.
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Since their vote, both Bonneville and Madison counties – where Idaho Falls and Rexburg are located – have been placed into the High Risk, or orange, level in EIPH’s COVID-19 Regional Response Plan. Being placed on the moderate risk, or yellow, level would have normally come with a county-wide mask mandate until the Board of Health’s recent vote. Bonneville county has a population of nearly 120,000 people, and Madison county has nearly 40,000.
“Sadly, while COVID-19 case numbers continue to drop across the state, Bonneville County is experiencing this year’s most rapid rise of positive cases,” EIPH Board Chairman Bryon Reed said in a statement Tuesday. “It is heartbreaking and unnecessary to have this level of sickness and loss of life at this very late stage of the pandemic.”
Reed continues to advocate for personal responsibility when it comes to lowering the number of cases.
“We as a community know what must be done to stop this rapid spread of sickness, and it should not require a health order,” he continued. “By following the Eastern Idaho Public Health guidelines, we can stop this sudden surge of cases. This will protect lives, our hospital system and our local economy.”
EIPH said that Wednesday, March 17, had 94 new cases in Bonneville County, 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 Board of Health’s vote to stop mandates – Bonneville county had 60 new cases and an active rate of 24.10 cases per 10,000. Madison had 17 new cases with an active rate of 21.30 cases per 10,000, according to EIPH data.
As of Wednesday, there are 564 active cases in Bonneville County with 39 hospitalized residents, and 141 active cases in Madison County with six hospitalized residents.
Since mid-March 2020, EIPH said 226 people within the district have died due to COVID-19 — and half a dozen of those deaths have been in the last two weeks. Most have been in Bonneville County.
Health officials say deaths are not the biggest concern with COVID-19. The vast majority of people that catch the virus will recover at home with no problems. But enough people get severely sick that overwhelming hospitals is a real possibility — even now as we are near what appears to be the end of the pandemic.
Dr. Kenneth Krell, director of Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center’s ICU, told EastIdahoNews.com that its regular ICU capacity is 29 individuals. On Wednesday, it was at 30 beds occupied after using overflow options. Ten to 12 of those patients are in the ICU due to COVID-19. Some patients were waiting in the emergency room until a bed opened up in the ICU.
“We’ve managed to take care of everybody without having to divert patients, which we try very hard not to do,” he said. “Three weeks ago, we weren’t scrambling to get a patient out of the unit to get another one in. We weren’t as stretched as we are now.”
Natalie Podgorski, an Idaho Falls Community Hospital spokesperson, said that they have 18 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and six of them in their ICU. They still have the capacity to accept more patients, but their beds have been filling up as cases in the county continue to rise.
“The most important thing that the public can do is to not let their COVID fatigue get the better of their common sense.”
Though there are multiple explanations for the rise in cases and case rates. Experts like Krell said that not following safety recommendations like wearing masks or properly social distancing adds significantly to the problem.
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“The most important thing that the public can do is to not let their COVID fatigue get the better of their common sense and what we need to be doing to get through this next immediate period,” Krell said. “We do have the potential of having at least some return to normalcy in the summer, but we don’t want patients to die unnecessarily in the meantime.”
Although EIPH doesn’t make mandates over its counties, the county officials, city officials, or private businesses can still enforce their own mandates if they see fit.
In Madison County, Brigham Young University-Idaho announced Wednesday that despite EIPH’s lifting of the mandate, the school – a private organization – will continue to enforce COVID-19 safety protocols, including masks on campus and social distancing in classrooms.
Mandates or not, EIPH stresses the importance of individuals choosing to do what they can to help the community get through to a safer future.
“Please, within your own lives, businesses and schools, implement the actions necessary to stop this rapid spread of the virus in our community,” Reed said.