Newly reported COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rise in weekly Iowa coronavirus update

Richard Lane, Des Moines Register
·2 min read

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

The number of new COVID-19 cases was 2,114 over the past week, or an average of 302 per day. They were the highest figures registered in one week by the state health department updates since early March.

There were 86 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa on Wednesday, up slightly from 84 last week, according to federal data. Of those, nine patients required intensive care for COVID-19 complications, an increase from six cases reported last week.

These totals likely do not capture the extent of all the new cases in Iowa, as they would not include virus carriers who are asymptomatic and do not get tested, nor do they include people who test positive but do not report their results to the state health department.

More: New reported COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations up in Iowa's weekly coronavirus update

The latest COVID-19 numbers in Iowa

The latest data, as of 12 a.m. Wednesday, May 4, compared to the previous Wednesday:

  • Confirmed cases: 765,186, an increase of 2,114

  • Deaths: 9,533, an increase of 4

  • 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: 86, up from 84 one week ago

  • Patients in ICU: 9, up from 6

How many people in Polk and Dallas counties are vaccinated?

In Polk County, 66.4% of residents are fully vaccinated, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from one week ago.

In Dallas County, 67% of residents are fully vaccinated, an increase of 0.1 percentage points.

The five counties in Iowa with the highest percentage of their population fully vaccinated as of May 4 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 are both up in weekly update