Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has announced that Idaho’s laboratories will soon be able to test every positive COVID-19 sample for variants. The news comes as the Delta variant continues to spread throughout the nation. So far, Idaho has just one confirmed Delta case, but nationwide, the strain has accounted for 20 percent of new positives in the last week, almost all among unvaccinated people.

State epidemiologist Dr. Christine Hahn said there isn’t evidence of large-scale undetected Delta spread in Idaho, as case counts and test positivity continue to drop. Last week, just 2.9 percent of the state’s tests came back positive. Still, the state wants to be prepared if and when the variant arrives, she said.

While half of Idaho’s adults are now at least partially vaccinated, the majority of counties haven’t yet hit the 50 percent threshold, with rural counties in particular lagging behind the state’s metropolitan counties. Rural counties also report the state’s highest death rates due to COVID 19.

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