Idaho’s coronavirus metrics continued to improve this week, with new case numbers falling to their lowest rate in more than four months.

As of Friday afternoon, the state and its seven health districts reported 165,030 confirmed or probable coronavirus cases, a 1.6 percent increase from last week.

The state recorded 2,575 new cases — with that number falling below the 3,000 mark for the first time since late September.

Other metrics were encouraging as well. New hospital and ICU admissions and deaths were all down from last week — and these tend to be lagging indicators, reflecting new case activity from several weeks earlier.

And while Idaho’s COVID vaccination rollout has been uneven, the vaccination numbers also increased in the past week.

In other coronavirus news from the week:

Back to Stage 3. Citing the decrease in case numbers and decreased stress on the state’s hospitals, Gov. Brad Little moved Idaho back from Stage 2 of its coronavirus reopening plan to the less restrictive Stage 3. The shift won’t affect attendance caps on school sporting events, and it won’t affect locally adopted school reopening plans.

A partisan divide on reopening. Republicans and parents are more likely to support full-time, in-person K-12 instruction, while Democrats are more likely to support online instruction, according to Boise State University’s sixth annual Idaho Public Policy Survey. According to the survey, parents of K-12 students generally give their local schools favorable grades.

A flood of federal money. The new federal coronavirus stimulus law will yield more than a quarter billion dollars for Idaho schools. The money will help K-12 schools address learning gaps, and provide some direct help for college students. But the one-time money poses a challenge for school leaders and legislators alike.

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

Weekly positive test rate, as reported by the state: 7.0 percent for week ending Jan. 30, down from 8.0 percent the previous week.