PHD: 86 new coronavirus cases

The Panhandle Health District reported 86 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the lowest single-day case total this year and lowest in more than two months.

All told, PHD reported it has had 19,984 coronavirus cases and 14,507 closed cases, leaving 5,477 active cases, which is about 2.3% of the district’s population.

It reported there have been 221 deaths in the district attributed to the virus, with 197 of those people age 70 and over. Twenty-one were in the 60-69 age group and 3 were in the 50-59 age group. No one under the age of 50 has died of the coronavirus in the PHD, according to its website.

Meanwhile, Kootenai Health reported it had 40 coronavirus patients on Friday, also the fewest this year and less than half of the previous number of COVID-19 patients there when the case count climbed into the 80s in December and early January.

Kootenai County had 55 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing its total to 15,205. There have been 150 COVID-related deaths in the county, according to PHD, which is about .09% of its population of about 165,000.

The positivity rate for the coronavirus in the PHD rose slightly to 17.7% for the week ending Jan. 16 based on 3,481 PCR tests, which was the fewest tests administered in the PHD since Oct. 17.

The state’s positivity rate for the virus remained 11.4% for the second straight week.