COVID-19 continues climb in Iowa

The spread of COVID-19 continues to accelerate in Iowa with a stark rise in active cases in the state, matched by a similar increase of hospitalizations and deaths.

As of Sunday, October 25, there have been 115,842 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, increasing the 107,118 total from the week prior by 8,724 cases, showing a steady rise in new cases from the previous week.

In total, approximately 4,634 elderly adults (age 80+); 16,218 older adults (61-80); 32,435 middle aged adults (41-60); 52,129 young adults (18-40); and 10,426 children have tested positive for the disease. These estimates are based on a percentage-based breakdown of the state’s reported positive cases.

With 87,749 cases considered recovered, that leaves roughly 26,458 Iowans currently known to be fighting the disease, an increase of 2,674 from the previous week.

937,036 individuals have been tested since the start of the pandemic, including 864,998 PCR tests and 72,038 by antigen tests. An average of 4,400 PCR tests per day were counted over the last week, along with a total of 6,900 new antigen tests.

It was announced last week that the state would be closing several of the drive-thru Test Iowa sites as winter weather starts up.

One Polk County test site has already closed, and a second is scheduled to close on November 6. These two sites will be replaced by a new, indoor testing site in Des Moines.

Other sites in Black Hawk, Linn, Pottawattamie, and Scott Counties may be making similar transitions in the coming weeks.

Current testing shows that roughly 61% of positive cases result in symptoms while 12% have been asymptomatic, with the remaining cases pending or unknown.

In addition, 65,891 Iowans have undergone serology testing for coronavirus antibodies, which would indicate that they have had the virus. Of that number, 3,772, about 6%, have tested positive for antibodies.

Cases requiring hospitalization continue to rise, with now five consecutive weeks of increases, reaching a new high on Sunday with 561 Iowans hospitalized with the disease and 129 in an ICU.

After a slight decrease in the previous week, COVID-19 deaths have spiked again, with 107 dying from the disease in the last seven days, bringing the total death count in Iowa to 1,635.

In total, approximately 809 elderly (49.48%), 655 older adults (40.06%), 146 middle aged adults (8.93%), 24 young adults (1.47%), and one child (.06%) have died from the virus since the pandemic began.

Of the new deaths, 69 have been attributed to outbreaks in long term care facilities, bringing the number of deaths in long term care facilities to 808.

The number of long term care facilities reporting outbreaks jumped again this week, increasing by three with 67 now reporting outbreaks consisting of 1,979 positive individuals with 776 considered recovered.

Though Governor Kim Reynolds has not held a press conference concerning the outbreak in recent weeks, she did release a video on Friday emphasizing the importance of abiding by social distancing guidelines and expressing that the responsibility for protecting Iowans from COVID-19 is on other Iowans.

“We all know and love someone who is vulnerable to the virus,” said Reynolds. “Who is the person in your life that you want to protect from the virus. Think of them when you put on your face covering, when you stand a little further back in line at the grocery store, or when you choose to adjust how you do things, because it could make a difference for someone you care about.”