(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
This story was originally published by Iowa Capital Dispatch and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
COVID hospitalizations have declined throughout April [1]
['Jared Strong', 'More From Author', '- April']
Date: 2023-05
The number of people infected by COVID-19 who are receiving inpatient care at Iowa hospitals is at its lowest this year and is approaching the previous lows set in the past two years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An average of about 79 people were hospitalized with the disease on any given day in the past week. That’s down from 109 the week before and is less than half of what it was at the beginning of April.
The low marks set in past years of the coronavirus pandemic were 56 in June 2021 and 53 in April 2022, CDC data show.
The number of tests that have confirmed a COVID-19 infection has also declined, although they are now a lesser barometer of the coronavirus’ threat. Popular at-home, rapid tests are not reported to the state, which also stopped requiring test results from labs starting this month.
Iowa is the only state to cease its COVID-19 reporting to federal health officials.
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services now reports scaled-back data in its weekly respiratory virus surveillance report, which has historically focused on influenza but includes notes about a handful of other viruses.
The most recent update on Friday, which covers the week of April 16 to 22, reported 189 positive COVID-19 tests. That is about half of what the department reported three weeks ago.
The reports in April have included an average of about 20 deaths per week that are associated with the disease.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/briefs/covid-hospitalizations-have-declined-throughout-april/
Published and (C) by Iowa Capital Dispatch
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND-NC 4.0.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/iowacapitaldispatch/
