(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch.
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COVID cases and hospitalizations level off in Iowa

['Jared Strong', 'More From Author', '- May']

Date: 2022-05-25 00:00:00


The state’s COVID-19 infection rate increased slightly this past week, when it averaged about 566 new confirmed cases each day, according to Iowa Department of Public Health data that published Wednesday.

That represents about a 3% increase over the previous week, the smallest gain in more than a month.

All told, the state reported 3,960 new cases for the past week — the largest number since a recent lull in late March. That number does not include infections that are confirmed by at-home testing because the state doesn’t track them.

The number of people infected by the coronavirus who are receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals diminished in the past week, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. On Wednesday, there were 139 hospitalized — down from 145 last week. Of those currently hospitalized, 13 are under intensive care — down from 19 a week ago.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had broadened its warnings about the threat of infection in some Iowa counties late last week, ranking the threat “high” in Greene, Guthrie and Poweshiek counties.

The low, medium and high rankings are based on local infection and hospitalization rates. The CDC recommends people wear masks indoors in public places when the threat is high.

Counties with a medium threat for infection included Allamakee, Cerro Gordo, Dubuque, Franklin, Hancock, Howard, Jackson, Johnson, Kossuth and Winnebago. An updated report is expected Thursday.

On Wednesday, IDPH also reported 16 new deaths among people who were infected by the coronavirus. The state’s death total since the start of the pandemic is 9,588.

The U.S. death toll from the virus surpassed 1 million last week, the Associated Press reported.

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