COEUR d'ALENE — The Panhandle Health District reported there were 238 deaths related to COVID-19 in 2022, and that number could rise.

"Since there is a delay between when the death occurs and when it is reported to the health district, I would suspect there will be more reported for December that we have not received yet," wrote Katherine Hoyer, health district spokeswoman.

The Panhandle Health District, which covers Benewah, Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone and Bonner counties, recorded 15,863 new COVID-19 cases in 2022. That doesn't include an estimated 4,000 probable cases and any other cases that haven’t been reported from the end of December. As well, the results of at-home tests are not reported, "so the numbers are probably low," Hoyer said.

PHD recorded 835 new cases in November and December, well down from the 3,920 for the same two months in 2021.

The most recent COVID-19 positivity rate in the PHD was 11.3%, based on 582 PCR tests for the week ending Dec. 24. Kootenai County's was 10.8% based on 416 PCR tests.

The county's vaccination rate remains low, 43.1%, with 73,489 residents fully vaccinated.

The number of Kootenai County residents with a second booster dose stands at 14,922.

The total of COVID-19 cases in the PHD stands at 64,802, with total deaths attributed to COVID at 1,041. Of those, 90% were age 60 or older, while 1.1% were under the age of 40.

Kootenai Health on Tuesday had 14 COVID patients in-house, which is down from prior to the holidays. It reached a high of about 150 in late 2021.

It still has masking in urgent cares, clinics and the hospital. It has some visitor restrictions in place, "but that is typical for this time of year due to flu, RSV and now COVID-19," a hospital spokesperson said.

Hoyer said even with the lower case count, people should not dismiss COVID, which has caused more than 500,000 cases and 5,300 deaths in Idaho.

"COVID remains concerning as it continues to circulate in the community, send people to the hospital, and unfortunately some do not survive," she wrote. "An effective vaccine is available for those who would like to receive it."