New COVID-19 cases steady, but hospitalizations fall in Iowa

Coronavirus hospitalizations continue to decline in Iowa.

As of Wednesday, 162 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa hospitals, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That’s a decline from 184 patients last week and 186 the week before.

The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care also decreased. It fell to 15 this week from 17 last week and 25 the week before.

New cases

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 3,988 new cases of COVID-19 in the past seven days, an uptick compared with 3,919 new cases reported last week.

In total, Iowa has reported 796,196 cases of the coronavirus since March 2020, when the pandemic began in the state.

Linn County reported 348 COVID-19 cases in the past seven days, a drop from the last two weeks. The county had 352 new cases last week and 367 the week before. In total, the county has had 55,661 coronavirus cases since March 2020.

Johnson County reported 279 new cases in the past week. That’s an increase from the 268 cases reported last week, but a decline from the 315 reported the week before. To date, 38,350 coronavirus cases have been reported in the county in the past two years.

Community transmission

As of Monday, the majority of Iowa’s 99 counties — including Linn and Johnson — continue to have “high” and “substantial” COVID-19 community transmission levels, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, more Iowa counties continue to fall into the “moderate” level when compared with the week before. And for the first time in weeks, one Western Iowa county was categorized in the “low” category.

Deaths

On Wednesday, eight deaths as a result of the coronavirus were confirmed in Iowa over the past week, according to the state public health department.

Last week, after a pause in reporting due to technical issues, the state reported 65 new COVID-19 deaths.

In total, 9,688 Iowans have died as a result of COVID-19 during the pandemic.

Linn County reported one coronavirus death in the past week, bringing its death toll to 595. Johnson County had no deaths in the past week. To date, 155 residents have died in the county from the virus.

Vaccinations

The latest COVID-19 vaccination data available from the state public health department, which updates totals the first Tuesday of the month, is from June 7.

As of earlier this month, the number of fully vaccinated Iowans and non-Iowans vaccinated in the state stood at 1,933,003. That’s 62.3 percent of the state’s total population and 66.4 percent of those aged 5 and older.

The number of fully vaccinated and boosted individuals in Iowa as of June 7 was 1,052,546.

Johnson County reported 73.1 percent of its total population and 77.6 percent of residents 5 and older are fully vaccinated. It is the only county in Iowa with a rate over 70 percent.

In Linn County, 67.1 percent of the total county population and 71.6 percent of those 5 and older were fully vaccinated as of this month.

Comments: (319) 398-8469; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com

John McGlothlen of The Gazette contributed to this report.