Iowa virus hospitalizations fall from January peak

DES MOINES — The number of people hospitalized due to the coronavirus and the number of confirmed infections have dropped in Iowa, but hundreds of people in the state remain seriously ill with the virus, according to state data released Monday.

While hospitalizations have dropped about 10 percent in a week, Iowa has 849 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and 130 in intensive care, the state Department of Public Health reported.

The seven-day moving average of daily cases fell to around 4,200 from a recent peak of over 5,500 on Jan. 18.

The number of nursing homes with outbreaks increased to 107 in Monday's report, up from 95 reported Friday. Schools continue to see a significant number of infections.

The Centerville district in Appanoose County in southern Iowa called off classes Jan. 24 and 25 after “experiencing high absenteeism within our certified and support staff and students due to COVID-19, influenza and a variety of other illnesses,” Superintendent Tom Rubel said in a letter to the district.

The county has the 13th-lowest vaccination rate in the state, with 49.5 percent of the county population without at least one dose of vaccine.

State data shows 242 people have died of COVID since Jan. 1. Since the pandemic began, Iowa reports 8,501 have died. Federal data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lists slightly more, with 8,553 deaths.