Currently, public health districts across the state are overwhelmed with positive coronavirus cases, driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant. As of Thursday afternoon, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported a backlog of almost 18,000 positive laboratory results that hadn’t yet been processed. That’s in addition to the thousands of positive cases the state officially recorded this week.

The statewide test positivity rate broke an all-time record high last week, at 25.7 percent. That rate varies by region, with 27 percent in north Idaho’s Panhandle Health District, 26 percent in Central District Health, and 31 percent in Eastern Idaho Public Health District. No district in the state fell below 18 percent.

Hospitalizations are also going up, though not as rapidly. This week, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen warned that hospitals could soon see a return to crisis standards of care, due to a combination of the rise in cases and so many healthcare workers calling in sick.