Whitman County sees record high COVID-19 cases

The single-day record for the number of new COVID-19 cases in Whitman County broke for the third time this week.

Whitman County Public Health reported a record-setting 92 new cases Thursday, followed by 107 new cases Friday. But the latest record isn’t expected to last long, according to Whitman County Public Health Director Chris Skidmore.

As the highly contagious omicron variant sweeps across the region, the tally of new COVID-19 cases is only expected to increase.

“Whitman County Public Health is currently experiencing unprecedented levels of COVID-19 transmission throughout the county,” Skidmore stated in a news release Friday morning. “We anticipate seeing more record-setting days in the coming week.”

The health agency also reported eight additional hospitalizations Friday. No new deaths were reported.

There have been 6,867 confirmed cases, 311 hospitalizations and 83 deaths in Whitman County since the pandemic began.

“We are asking that residents take caution when planning or attending large indoor events,” the news release stated. “It is imperative that we, as a community, do everything we can to limit the pressure on our healthcare system.”

Skidmore also urged people to consider wearing higher-quality masks, such as N95 or KN95 masks, and get vaccinated.

“Our state department of health’s modeling suggests that this omicron wave will have a rapid increase in cases and hospitalizations,” he stated. “Social distancing and high-quality mask wearing continue to be effective strategies to reduce transmission.”

COVID-19 testing is available through various community locations, the news release added.

Beginning next Wednesday, U.S. citizens can begin ordering free rapid COVID-19 tests with home delivery through a new government website, covidtests.gov. Orders are limited to four tests per household, according to the website. There are no shipping costs and no need to enter a credit card number.

Tests from the website are expected to ship within 7-12 days upon ordering.

Public Health – Idaho North Central District reported 39 new cases of COVID-19 in Latah County on Friday. In the last week, the health agency reported 223 new cases.

The latest cases include seven people under age 18, 13 people between ages 18-29, 11 people in their 30s, two people in their 40s, three people in their 50s, one person in their 60s and two people in their 70s. No new deaths were reported.

There have been 4,805 confirmed cases, 379 probable cases and 41 deaths in Latah County since the start of the pandemic.

Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.