Idaho officials: COVID climbing too fast to timely track

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho’s coronavirus cases are increasing faster than the state can track them, causing a lag in case counts that some public health leaders fear could lull residences into a false sense of security. Deputy state epidemiologist Dr. Kathryn Turner says the backlog is happening because public health agencies can’t keep up with the flood of positive COVID-19 tests. That means it can be a day or more before they are reflected in the statewide counts. As a result, the state’s COVID-19 tracker shows an average of about 48 new cases for every 100,000 people each day. Turner says it’s likely closer to 135 new cases a day per 100,000.