On Wednesday, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare added 1,290 new cases and 17 new deaths to its statewide total. That’s a new single-day record of both reported cases and deaths in Idaho, bringing the statewide total to 68,314 known cases and 664 deaths.

Members of the state Disaster Medical Advisory Committee sent a letter to Governor Brad Little this week asking for a statewide mask mandate. They’re concerned that Idaho’s hospitals are so overwhelmed that they’re on the brink of moving to crisis standards of care. When that happens, doctors have to prioritize who gets care based on things like the likelihood of survival.

A Blaine County man and a Twin Falls County woman are the state’s first flu-related deaths of the season. Both individuals also had COVID-19. Doctors encourage everyone to get a flu shot.