COVID cases steady in Magic Valley this Summer

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Throughout the Summer, local hospitals have seen relatively steady COVID infections come through their doors nothing like peaks seen during previous phases of the pandemic.

St. Luke’s doctor Joshua Kern said his staff has consistently seen patients in the hospital who are positive for the COVID-19 virus but they have seen a steep decline in the severity of most cases.

Dr. Kern said the decline of both case numbers and case severity could be tied to both natural immunity and vaccine intake paired with a less devastating strain of the virus. Additionally, the way cases have been diagnosed has been shifting.

“Earlier points in the pandemic, people really came in from COVID, it was always if you were admitted for COVID it was because you were so sick from COVID you were coming into the hospital,” said Dr. Kern. “Now, it does often end up being patients are coming in because you have something else, and you also have COVID.”

He adds that the hospital is in a better position to serve the area than last Summer but is still working to catch up with a backlog of procedures delayed by crisis standards of care activations.

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