PHD's virus positivity rate falls to 5.3%

Idaho’s positivity rate for the coronavirus fell to 4.5% for the week ending Thursday based on 24,040 PCR tests. That’s the lowest since it was 2.7% on June 13, and down from a high of 19.1% on Nov. 21.

The Panhandle Health District's positivity rate for COVID-19 fell to 5.3% on Thursday, the lowest since it was 4.2% on Aug. 29, more than six months ago.

Kootenai County’s coronavirus positivity rate fell to 5.6%, the lowest since it hit 4.8% on Aug. 29. A little over two months ago, Jan. 2, the county’s positivity rate reached its highest point, 27.1%.

The positivity rate has been steadily dropping in the state, PHD and Kootenai County for two months.

The World Health Organization recommended in May that the percent positive remain below 5% for at least two weeks before governments consider reopening, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“The percent positive is a critical measure because it gives us an indication how widespread infection is in the area where the testing is occurring — and whether levels of testing are keeping up with levels of disease transmission,” the Johns Hopkins website said.

There were no deaths attributed to the virus in Idaho on Thursday, according to the state’s coronavirus website.

PHD has had a total of 22,222 COVID-19 cases, with 20,055 of those closed. That leaves 2,167 active cases, about 0.88% of the district’s population.

While coronavirus cases are declining, health officials continue to urge people to wear masks, maintain social distance and wash hands often.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, primarily older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and death.