COVID cases are up again in Iowa as US nears grim milestone of 1 million deaths

Richard Lane, Des Moines Register
·2 min read

The number of newly reported COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rose for the third consecutive week, according to data released Wednesday from the Iowa Department of Public Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

New reported COVID-19 cases increased to 3,172 over the past week, or an average of 453 per day, according to the state health department.

There were 124 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa on Wednesday, a rise of 38 from last week, according to federal data. Of those, 13 patients required intensive care for COVID-19 complications, another increase from the nine cases reported last week.

The rising figures are released as the national number of COVID-19 deaths will soon reach a milestone statistic of one million victims since early 2020.

In Iowa, there were 21 additional COVID-19 deaths reported in the past week, bringing the state's COVID-19 death toll to 9,554. The actual number is likely higher, as it often takes several weeks for COVID-19 deaths to be confirmed and reported publicly on the state's public dashboard.

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The latest COVID-19 numbers in Iowa

The latest data, as of 12 a.m. Wednesday, May 11, compared to the previous Wednesday:

  • Confirmed cases: 768,358, an increase of 3,172

  • Deaths: 9,554, an increase of 21

  • Percentage of Iowans who are fully vaccinated: 58.6%

Note: Data on total tests, positivity rate, and total recovered Iowans are no longer available on the health department's updated COVID dashboard.

How many people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa?

Note: Hospitalization data for COVID-19 is no longer available through the Iowa Department of Public Health. The data below is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The number of patients on ventilators is no longer included.

  • Hospitalizations: 124, up from 86 one week ago

  • Patients in ICU: 13, up from 9

How many people in Polk and Dallas counties are vaccinated?

In Polk County, 66.4% of residents are fully vaccinated, the same percentage from one week ago.

In Dallas County, 67% of residents are fully vaccinated, also the same percentage from one week ago.

The five counties in Iowa with the highest percentage of their population fully vaccinated as of May 11 are Johnson (70.2%), Buena Vista (67.7%), Dallas (67%), Polk (66.4%) and Linn (65.5%) counties.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rise for third week in a row