System delays, local prison clusters this week cause over 300 COVID-19 cases in SE Idaho | Coronavirus

More than 300 COVID-19 cases were recorded this week in southeastern Idaho due to delays in receiving positive reports from the laboratory, changes in reporting of confirmed cases, and clusters of cases identified in two local prisons. Newly announced.

Southeastern Idaho Public Health (SIPH) Community Health Director Tracy McCulloch spoke to the Idaho Journal on Thursday afternoon explaining why newly confirmed daily COVID-19 cases in the region differ significantly throughout the week. Did. SIPH started a week to announce nine new COVID-19 cases on Monday, followed by 140 new cases on Tuesday, 108 new cases on Wednesday, and 50 new cases on Thursday.

“In the first place, it was taking longer than usual to receive a positive test report due to a significant delay in the reporting system from the lab,” said McCulloch. “We had a data management system that we used to get positive lab reports and it was very slow.”

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The slowness of its data management system contributed to the reduction in case numbers SIPH announced only nine new COVID-19 cases in the region on Monday — the fewest new announcements in health districts since 21 July Confirmed case. Tuesday’s announcement was higher, which was 140 new cases.

45 new COVID-19 cases from prisoners and staff at Bannock County Jail in Pocatello, in addition to the announcement of COVID-19 on Tuesday at SIPH, including the delay of positive cases from the laboratory Was also included. That of the 83 positive COVID-19 cases reported in Bannock County on Tuesday, more than half were associated with prison outbreaks. Of the 45 COVID-19 cases in Bannock County Jail, four were positive, according to Tony Manu, Bannock County Sheriff.

A similar situation occurred on Wednesday when SIPH announced 108 new COVID-19 cases in the health district, 79 of which were in Bingham County. Wednesday’s figures include 64 positive COVID-19 cases reported between prisoners and staff at Bingham County Jail in Blackfoot, according to McCulloch. Of the 64 COVID-19 cases in Bingham County prison, 11 were positive, according to Bingham County Sheriff Craig Roland.

In addition to the delay in reporting positive cases from the laboratory and the total of 109 cases reported in two prisons in southeastern Idaho, McCulloch said how the health district would report new cases. Due to the change, the number increased this week and was determined to be positive before the health district, which decided to include all individuals, contacted the individuals and confirmed they live in one of the eight counties in the district. Who

“In the past, we confirmed that the positive cases lived in the actual health district before reporting the number of cases,” said McCulloch. “For example, if a new case arises, you may not have an address, so you may need to contact an individual and you may get a lot of phone calls before reaching the final confirmed case. Once we confirm that they live in our health district, we will add them to the case count.”

But now, McCulloch said the SIPH includes all cases confirmed before its validation. This is mainly because previous reporting methods were effective when reporting only a few new cases per week, rather than tens or more.

“Our case load has increased and we decided it was better to report those new cases immediately,” said McCulloch.

By Thursday, all previous cases of delayed reporting, as well as cases not normally included in older reporting methods, were considered. In other words, the 50 cases announced that day were not affected by delays or changes in counting methods.

McCulloch also said Thursday that several counties moved to different risk levels according to SIPH’s COVID-19 regional response plan. The counties of Bannock, Bingham, Franklin and Oneida remain at the lowest level. Bear Lake, Caribou, and Power counties were at moderate levels, but Butte moved to a higher risk level.

“When determining regional risk levels, we look at both the current number of active cases and information and data from hospitals in each region,” McCulloch said. “The Bingham and Blackfoot county hospitals told us they were still okay in terms of capacity, so we decided to keep these two counties at a minimum level.”

In addition to meeting the new daily reported case-per-population threshold for consideration in the high-risk categories, McCulloch told health professionals about the potential burden on hospitals. He said he expressed concern. For more information on SIPH’s localization plans, including recommendations and mitigation strategies to limit the spread of the virus, visit siphidaho.org/coronavirus.php..

The SIPH Health Commission also decided on Thursday not to include aggressive COVID-19 positive cases of prison inmates when deciding when to move the county to a particular risk level. But since detention staff interact with the public, those cases are part of the decision-making process, McCulloch added.

Also on Thursday, the Bannock County Commission announced on Tuesday that it withdrew its COVID-19 emergency declaration for Bannock County. The Declaration acknowledged that “when the public interest and need dictate, we will immediately expend public money without complying with formal bid protection.”

The Commissioner’s office released Thursday in a press release, “The Commission recommends to employees and citizens about social distances, staying home when ill, and using face covers (Centers for Disease Control). We continue to encourage our customers to continue to comply with COVID-19 rules and restrictions regarding access to county buildings.”

Bannock County Commissioner Terrell “Ned” Toby said withdrawing the urgent order would pave the way for the county’s fiscal and budget processes to return to normal.

“With an urgent declaration, we can significantly increase our budget, suspend the bidding process, and get things without formal sourcing. I don’t think it’s right to leave it alone.” Said Tovey. “We need to regain that power.”