Nearly a quarter of Iowa’s 99 counties reported 14-day average COVID-19 positivity rates of over 15 percent as the state cleared running 700,000 coronavirus tests so far as of Sunday morning.
Iowa’s public health data recorded 873 new cases — the ninth highest level to date — in a 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Sunday. That brings the state’s total to 74,420 cases since the first ones were reported March 8 in Iowa.
Polk and Webster counties each reported one death as a result of the virus in the period. The two deaths bring Iowa’s total to 1,218.
The number of people hospitalized because of the virus in Iowa, however, declined during the period. Hospitalizations dropped 16 to 274. The number of those patients in intensive care declined by 11 to 79, and the number on ventilators to help breathe dropped by eight to 28.
As of Sunday morning, Iowa reported that 700,481 tests have been conducted during the pandemic.
Of the 5,699 test results announced in the period ending Sunday, 15.32 percent were positive.
Twenty-four counties have rolling 14-day average positivity rates greater than 15 percent:
• Sioux: 27.45 percent
• Bremer: 25.34 percent
• Plymouth: 24.30 percent
• Chickasaw: 23.84 percent
• Carroll: 23.61 percent
• Johnson: 22.54 percent
• Story: 22.34 percent
• Lyon: 21.98 percent
• O’Brien: 21.03 percent
• Mitchell: 20.07 percent
• Henry: 19.34 percent
• Davis: 18.80 percent
• Grundy: 18.09 percent
• Crawford: 17.36 percent
• Marion: 17.29 percent
• Woodbury: 16.94 percent
• Allamakee: 16.41 percent
• Clinton: 16.36 percent
• Howard: 15.79 percent
• Winnebago: 15.79 percent
• Jackson: 15.73 percent
• Lee: 15.72 percent
• Buena Vista: 15.69 percent
• Delaware: 15.25 percent
