Idaho Department of Health and Welfare confirms 9th Coronavirus case in state

Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has confirmed the ninth Coronavirus case in the state, the fourth in Blaine County.

South Central Public Health reported that this a female patient over 80 years old. She is recovering well in a local hospital under isolation. The point of transmission is under investigation.

They also confirmed their third confirmed case in a female patient over the age of 50. She is recovering well in her home under isolation and was not hospitalized. Point of transmission is under investigation.

Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Eastern Idaho Public Health confirmed their first case in a BYU-Idaho student in his 20s with recent out-of-state travel to a COVID-19 affected area. The individual is in his apartment in Rexburg recovering from mild symptoms and did not require hospitalizations.

The patient became symptomatic on Sunday, March 8, returned from out-of-state to Madison County on Wednesday, March 11. Since he was not feeling well, he stayed in his apartment until he sought testing for COVID on Thursday, March 12. After the test, he was asked to self-isolate in his apartment pending notification of his test results. Epidemiologists with EIPH will determine reasonable risk criteria for locations visited by this individual and any close contacts of the individual who were possibly exposed. If other people are found to have possibly been exposed, public health officials will contact them, provide guidance, will monitor them closely for symptoms and perform testing on them if deemed appropriate.

Central District Health also had their third confirmed case of COVID-19 in a female patient under the age of 50. She is recovering well in her home under isolation and indicated experiencing mild symptoms that did not require hospitalization. This case has no known association with Ada County's previously identified cases and an investigation is currently under way to identify potential contact risk exposures. It is strongly believed that the acquisition of this illness is travel related.

The Department of Health and Welfare will continue to issue press releases for significant events related to the pandemic. Because of the number of new cases, however, the department will no longer announce individual cases of COVID-19 in press releases. Please refer to https://coronavirus.idaho.gov/ for the latest numbers and Idaho-specific information.