8 more coronavirus deaths reported in Iowa

Eight more Iowans died of COVID-19 since Friday morning, the state reported at 11 a.m. Saturday, bringing the total to 650 deaths in Iowa due to the respiratory illness.

No deaths were reported in Linn or Johnson Counties.

The state also recorded an additional 398 positive cases, bringing the state's total to 23,555, with about 60 percent of those recovered.

More than 6,000 Iowans were tested from 11 a.m. Friday to 11 a.m. Saturday, with a positive case rate of about 6 percent.

Polk County - the county with the most COVID-19 cases - surpassed 5,000 positive cases on Friday. That county's population is a little more than twice Linn's, but has reported five times the number of positive cases.

Hospitalizations statewide have continued to decline for the 17th consecutive day, according the Department of Public Health. Two hundred Iowans are hospitalized due to the novel coronavirus, the lowest total since April 17.

The numbers of patients in intensive care units, 73, and on ventilators, 43, also are down.

Another positive COVID-19 case was added to Willow Gardens Care Center's total in Marion, a Linn County long-term care center that reported an outbreak among residents and staff on Thursday. There are now 12 cases at the care center.

In western Iowa, Buena Vista County's Good Samaritan Society was added to the list of outbreaks. Jasper County's Accura Healthcare, roughly 100 miles west of Cedar Rapids, was removed.

The Cedar Rapids Test Iowa site will open at a different location on Monday. Previously at Kirkwood Community College, the relocated site will be at the Department of Transportation Office District 6 Office, 5455 Kirkwood Blvd.

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