Coronavirus cases in Idaho: the trendline

Idaho’s confirmed coronavirus cases passed the 1,000 mark Friday, and the state’s case numbers appear to be doubling every three days.

The total cases have increased sevenfold since March 25, when Gov. Brad Little issued a three-week stay-home order — in an attempt to slow the spread of the highly contagious virus.

This week, Little has said repeatedly that it will take time for the stay-home order to slow the increase in coronavirus cases — to “flatten the curve,” in the language of the pandemic.

He has said the order should begin to yield results within about 12 days — or sometime next week.

Little issued an isolation order on March 19 for Blaine County, still the county hardest hit by the coronavirus. Blaine County reported 405 cases Friday. As with the rest of the state, Blaine County’s cases appear to be doubling roughly every three days.

But as the table below indicates, the trendline can vary from day to day. On Thursday, Idaho’s cases increased by 33 percent. On Friday, that increase was 13 percent.

Another variable, of course, are test results. The state continues to collect new results, from its labs and commercial labs. But the number of results received can vary widely. For example, the state reported receiving 424 results on Sunday, and 1,006 results on Monday.

We will continue monitoring the case numbers and the trends.

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

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