Iowa confirms 7 more COVID-19 deaths

Iowa reported that 458 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Sunday as the seven-day rolling average of new cases in the state inched up to its highest level in over a month.

Another seven COVID-19 deaths also were confirmed Sunday, one dating to January.

New cases

The new positives reported Sunday bring the total number of cases the state has seen since the beginning of the pandemic to 349,598. It also brought the seven-day average of new cases to 560 - the highest since an average of 574 cases a day on Feb. 17.

Of the new cases, Linn County added 19, for a total of 19,830. Johnson County added 14, for a total of 13,478.

One new case was added for someone in the education occupation category. For children 17 and younger, 86 new cases were reported in the 24-hour period, according to the state data.

Deaths

The state confirmed seven COVID-19 deaths - four of them in March, two in February and one in January - bringing the total in Iowa to 5,725.

Five of the people who died as a result of the disease were between the ages of 61 and 80; two were over 80.

Boone, Cass, Des Moines, Fayette, Hamilton, Union and Webster counties each reported one of the deaths.

Hospitalizations

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in Iowa hospitals dipped below 200 Sunday morning for the first time in three days.

Hospitalizations in the 24-hour period inched down from 201 to 192. The number of patients in intensive care declined from 43 to 42, and the number on ventilators dropped from 12 to nine.

Vaccinations

Over 22 percent of Iowans over age 16 - or 556,555 people - have been fully vaccinated, the state said Sunday.

In Linn County, 43,128 people have been fully vaccinated. In Johnson County, it reached 34,241.

Two of the vaccines - Moderna and Johnson & Johnson - have been approved for people 18 and up. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for 16 and up.

State officials say that Iowans broadly - not just priority groups - will be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine starting April 5.