New COVID cases up 12% across Iowa in past week

Iowa saw the number of new COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the past week, reporting 5,924 new cases in the past week, up 12 percent from the previous week’s 5,301 new cases.

Since March 2020, when the pandemic arrived in Iowa, 816,588 cases of the virus have been reported, though the number is likely higher, given the increase in home testing.

Linn County reported 519 new cases, up from 485 last week. To date, 57,522 cases have been reported since March 2020.

Johnson County reported 354 new cases, up slightly from last week’s 343 cases. To date, 39,751 cases have been reported in the county during the pandemic.

Community transmission

As of Wednesday, 84 Iowa counties — including Linn and Johnson — are experiencing “high” COVID-19 community transmission, compared to 78 counties last week.

Only two counties — Allamakee in northeast Iowa and Davis in south-central Iowa — are experiencing “moderate” transmission. No counties have “low” transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitalizations

As of Wednesday, 249 Iowans are hospitalized with COVID-19, down from last week’s 256 patients.

The number of patients in intensive care units ticked down to 22, from 23 reported last week, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Deaths

Twenty-three new COVID-19 deaths were confirmed in the past week, compared to 41 deaths reported last week.

To date, 9,782 Iowans have died of the virus since March 2020.

Linn County confirmed three new deaths in the past week, compared to four deaths last week. Since the pandemic began, 602 county residents have died from the virus.

No deaths were reported in Johnson County.

Polk County reported three deaths, bringing its death toll to 1,129.

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