State-run Iowa Veterans Home hit by seventh COVID-19 outbreak

The number of active COVID-19 outbreaks in Iowa nursing homes is continuing to decline, but a new outbreak has cropped up at the Iowa Veterans Home.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, there were 27 outbreaks in Iowa care facilities three weeks ago, compared with 16 this week.

The state agency defines a nursing home outbreak as a facility with three or more active infections among the staffers and/or residents.

In late November, there were a total of 259 infections associated with the 27 outbreaks that were active at that time. Currently, there are 142 infections associated with the 17 active nursing home outbreaks. That represents 13 fewer care facility infections than last week.

The newest outbreaks are at Black Hawk County’s ManorCare Health Services of Waterloo, the site of 10 infections; and Franklin County’s Rehabilitation Center of Hampton, the site of six infections.

Also reappearing on the list of outbreaks is the state-run Iowa Veterans Home, the site of six previous outbreaks, the most of any care facility in Iowa. The new outbreak at the home is the seventh, and so far there are five infections associated with it.

The biggest current outbreak is at Clinton County’s Wheatland Manor, the site of 36 infections.

Because IDPH publicly reports the cumulative total number of infections associated with each outbreak, rather than the number of residents and staff who are currently testing positive for the virus, the reported number of infections associated with each outbreak can only increase or stay constant, but cannot decline.

However, the data shows that the cumulative total of infections associated with the current outbreak at Johnson County’s Iowa City Rehab & Health Care Center somehow dropped from seven infections last week to five infections this week. The department was unable Friday to provide an explanation for the decrease.