Coronavirus case numbers slowed this week, and other key metrics showed signs of improvement.

Since Saturday, the state averaged 881 cases per day — down from 1,031 cases per day in a six-day period after New Year’s Day.

Friday’s bottom line: The state and its health districts are reporting 154,663 confirmed or probable coronavirus cases statewide, a 4 percent increase over the past week.

Other key numbers:

• Hospital and ICU admissions decreased for the week.
• While nearly a week old, the state’s numbers on positive test results also declined.
• Eighty Idahoans died of COVID-19 in the past week, a weekly death toll more or less unchanged from the previous week.

In other coronavirus headlines from the week:

Vaccinations for K-12 employees. In a big development, the state of Idaho reworked its vaccination schedule, opening the door to the state’s K-12 teachers and employees. “The health of our teachers is paramount to ensuring students can learn in the classroom where they deserve to be,” Gov. Brad Little said Tuesday, as he announced the move.

Summer reading program? In his State of the State address Monday, Little laid out an ambitious plan for tax cuts and transportation funding. His education proposals didn’t break a lot of new ground. But he did propose $20 million for summer reading programs to help students who have fallen behind during the pandemic.

Back to school in Boise. The Boise School District will reopen schools next week, with students alternating between in-person and online school days. Schools in the state’s second-largest district have been closed since November.

Here are this week’s numbers, and comparisons with the previous week:

Weekly positive test rate, as reported by the state: 11.4 percent for week ending Jan. 9; 15.7 percent for the week ending Jan. 2. Decrease: 4.3 percentage points.