The COVID-19 surge in Idaho has peaked. But hospitals are still crowded.

Idaho’s top public health official had some good news, and some not-so-good news, in his weekly briefing to Idaho media Tuesday.

While several hospitals are behind on reporting their COVID-19 numbers, the Idaho Capital Sun’s analysis of weekly data also found Idaho’s trajectory is a mixed bag.

The good news: The delta surge has peaked

Idaho’s data “indicates that it is likely that Idaho has reached the peak of this current surge in cases,” said Idaho Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen. “The positivity has declined for the past four weeks, and the number of new cases has started to flatten out. And there are encouraging trends in the hospitalization data.”

Idaho’s rolling average of COVID-19 hospitalizations last week was 615 patients, down from a high of 759 just a few weeks ago, Jeppesen said. There has been a similar decline in ICU admissions and patients on ventilators, he said.

Read more: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2021/10/21/the-covid-19-surge-in-idaho-has-peaked-but-hospitals-are-still-crowded/