As Idaho began its fourth and final phase of a business reopening plan, its coronavirus case numbers showed some signs of tapering.
The Department of Health and Welfare and its health districts reported 3,375 confirmed and probable coronavirus cases Friday afternoon — a one-week increase of 8 percent.
A week ago, the increase was 11 percent.
Since late April, when Gov. Brad Little began relaxing the restrictions from a historic stay-at-home order, the state’s coronavirus case numbers have generally increased by 7 to 10 percent each week.
During a news conference Thursday, Little said Idaho barely met the mileposts necessary to move into the final phase of reopening. Little urged Idahoans to maintain social distancing and wear masks in public.
“This isn’t just a Boise and Treasure Valley issue,” he said. “All across the country we’re seeing the virus move from cities into rural areas where health care access is limited.”
Nearly half of this week’s 253 new cases were reported in only one of the state’s seven health districts — the Magic Valley’s South Central Public Health District.
The weekly numbers:
| Statewide statistics | June 5 | June 12 | One-week change |
| Cases, confirmed and probable | 3,122 | 3,375 | 8 percent |
| Deaths | 83 | 87 | 5 percent |
| Hospitalizations | 257 | 265 | 3 percent |
| ICU admissions | 98 | 98 | Unchanged |
| Patients recovered | 2,408 | 2,776 | 15 percent |
| Tests completed | 54,949 | 62,328 | 13 percent |
| Positive test rate (approximate: some patients undergo multiple tests) | 5.7 percent | 5.4 percent | -0.3 percentage points |
| Cases in select counties | |||
| Ada County | 834 | 878 | 5 percent |
| Blaine County | 514 | 515 | 0.2 percent |
| Twin Falls County | 438 | 480 | 10 percent |
| Canyon County | 336 | 356 | 6 percent |
| Jerome County | 194 | 205 | 6 percent |
| Cassia County | 109 | 134 | 23 percent |
| Minidoka County | 71 | 100 | 41 percent |
