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COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations continue to drop in Iowa
Deaths up, as virus-related toll passes 9,000 since March 2020
Feb. 23, 2022 4:50 pm, Updated: Feb. 23, 2022 5:57 pm
Heather Meador, a registered nurse with Linn County Public Health, hands out free, at-home COVID-19 test kits Jan. 11 to a woman in the lobby at the health department, 1020 Sixth St. SE in Cedar Rapids. The number of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to decline in Iowa, according to the Wednesday report from the Iowa Department of Public Health. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
The latest coronavirus surge in Iowa continues to wind down, according to state and federal public health data.
The state on Wednesday reported 4,417 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, the lowest seven-day total since the roughly 3,500 reported Aug. 4.
Last week, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 7,863 new infections and 12,833 cases the week before.
New infections of the novel coronavirus, driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant, have dropped steadily over the past several weeks after peaking Jan. 19, when Iowa reported 38,574 new cases for the week.
Even as case counts drop, all 99 counties in Iowa continue to have the maximum level of community transmission of the virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Linn County reported 331 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, a drop from the 640 cases reported last week.
Johnson County reported 241 new cases, compared to the 449 the previous week.
Vaccinations
In Iowa, another 5,089 people completed their COVID-19 shots in the past week. That brings the total number of people fully vaccinated to 1,892,672.
As of this week, 61 percent of all Iowans and 65 percent of Iowans aged 5 and older are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Another 8,039 fully vaccinated individuals received a COVID-19 booster shot in the past week, bringing the number of boosted individuals to 987,974.
In Linn County, 65.9 percent of the entire county population is fully vaccinated, and 70.2 percent of residents aged 5 and older.
In Johnson County, 71.7 percent of the county’s population is fully vaccinated, and 76.1 percent of those aged 5 and older.
Deaths
The state reported 137 new deaths as a result of COVID-19, an increase from the 119 reported last week.
Virus-related deaths in Iowa since March 2020 have now topped 9,000, with 9,085 deaths reported.
Linn County reported seven deaths in the past week, bringing the countywide death toll to 555.
Johnson County reported one death, bringing the county’s death toll to 138.
Hospitalizations
The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped from 446 last week to 345 this week — the lowest since 201 hospitalizations were reported Aug. 4.
The number patients in intensive care totaled 38 in the past week, a major decline from the 74 reported last week.
As of Feb. 10 — the latest data U.S. Health and Human Services — shows that 197 of the 218 ICU beds are occupied, putting bed availability below 10 percent.
Twenty-three of the 46 inpatient ICU beds were occupied at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, putting bed availability at 50 percent.
Mercy Medical Center reported 12 of 18 inpatient ICU beds occupied, putting bed availability at 33.3 percent.
Mercy Hospital in Iowa City reported 6 of its 12 inpatient ICU beds were occupied, putting bed availability at 50 percent.
Comments: (319) 398-8469; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com
John McGlothlen of The Gazette contributed to this report.
