The state of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iowa remained relatively unchanged over the past week, according to data released Wednesday by the Iowa Department of Public Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Both the number of new reported cases and number of people hospitalized in Iowa with COVID-19 decreased slightly over the past seven days, but not to an extent that would justify any sweeping declarations of a clear downward trend for the pandemic in Iowa.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa dropped by two, down to 184 patients. Outside of last week, that’s still higher than any week since the start of March.
There also was a drop in the number of Iowans requiring intensive care for COVID-19 complications: down from 25 last week to 17 this week, according to the health and human services department.
New reported cases dipped slightly this week, as well. Iowa added 3,919 new confirmed COVID-19 cases to its count over the past seven days, or an average of about 560 per day. That’s down from 570 per day the week prior.
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That number has now dropped for two consecutive weeks for the first time since March, although it is significantly higher than it was in the spring. As has been the case for the past several months, those numbers likely do not capture the full extent of the pandemic in Iowa, as people who test positive but are asymptomatic may not get tested, and those who test positive with an at-home test may not be reporting their cases to the state health department.
The Iowa public health department reported 65 new COVID-19 deaths in this week’s update, raising the state’s pandemic death toll to 9,679. That’s an unusually high number compared to recent weeks, but not necessarily cause for additional alarm; the state health department did not report any deaths last week, so this week’s update likely includes some deaths that would typically have been reported the week prior.
COVID-19 deaths also often take weeks to be confirmed and reported publicly on the health department’s website, so the deaths reported today may have occurred as far back as several months ago.
The latest COVID-19 numbers in Iowa
The latest data, as of 12 a.m. Wednesday, June 22, compared to the previous Wednesday:
- Confirmed cases: 792,208, an increase of 3,919
- Deaths: 9,679, an increase of 65
Data on the state vaccination rate is now updating once a month on the state health department website. As of June 7, 58.9% of Iowans were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
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: 184, down from 186 one week ago
- Patients in ICU: 17, down from 25
Tim Webber is a data visualization specialist for the Register. Reach him at twebber@registermedia.com, 515-284-8532, and on Twitter at @HelloTimWebber.
