Johnson County's COVID cases fall 6.7%; Iowa cases holding steady

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read
"Share Love, Not Germs," declared bottles of hand sanitizer at a ceremony in Ashland, Massachusetts.
"Share Love, Not Germs," declared bottles of hand sanitizer at a ceremony in Ashland, Massachusetts.

Iowa reported 5,648 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Sunday, from 5,637 the week before of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Iowa ranked 30th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 2.3% from the week before, with 795,621 cases reported. With 0.95% of the country's population, Iowa had 0.71% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, seven states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Johns Hopkins University has been getting data on an erratic schedule from Iowa, skewing week-to-week comparisons.

Johnson County reported 320 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 343 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 40,414 cases and 156 deaths.

Washington County reported 47 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 56 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 6,133 cases and 80 deaths.

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Within Iowa, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Cherokee County with 472 cases per 100,000 per week; Pocahontas County with 393; and Sac County with 370. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Polk County, with 765 cases; Linn County, with 384 cases; and Johnson County, with 320. Weekly case counts rose in 53 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Cherokee, Cerro Gordo and Kossuth counties.

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>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

​ Across Iowa, cases fell in 41 counties, with the best declines in Polk County, with 765 cases from 943 a week earlier; in Linn County, with 384 cases from 444; and in Woodbury County, with 240 cases from 288. ​

In Iowa, ​ 33 ​ people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 35 people were reported dead.

A total of 828,444 people in Iowa have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 9,850 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 92,927,104 people have tested positive and 1,037,021 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Iowa's COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Aug. 14. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 508

  • The week before that: 515

  • Four weeks ago: 401

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 72,082

  • The week before that: 71,315

  • Four weeks ago: 70,906

Hospitals in 13 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 18 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 27 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Johnson County reported 320 additional COVID-19 cases this week