Iowa on Friday reported 27,398 new cases of coronavirus and 15 new confirmed deaths, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The dramatic increase in test results on Friday is due to changes in the way public health officials are tracking tests and calculating the state’s positivity rate, the Iowa Department of Public Health confirmed in an email to The Gazette.
Starting this week, the state department of public health began monitoring COVID-19 tests by broadly observing the spread of the virus during the 14-day incubation period and began calculating Iowa’s positivity rate by dividing the number of tests positive in a two-week period by the total number of tests, both negative and positive, in the same period.
This is the same method used by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to calculate the percentage of positivity.
Previously, Iowa’s 14-day positivity rates were calculated by taking individuals who tested for the virus and dividing that number by the total number of people who took the COVID-19 test.
The move is likely to result in a lower overall positivity rate for Iowa, provisional director of public health Kelly Garcia said on Wednesday.
On Friday, Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate was 4.5 percent, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. The CDC’s 14-day positivity rate for Iowa was not immediately available, but the CDC reported that Iowa’s seven-day positivity rate was 7.6 percent.
NEW CASES
The new figures raise the state total to 358,467 cases and 5,336 deaths since March, according to data analyzed by The Gazette.
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The 27,398 new cases, notified between 11:00 am on Thursday and 11:00 am on Friday, come from 2,402,660 test results.
According to the new calculation, Linn County reported 1,219 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of cases in the county since March to 20,400. The seven-day average of new cases in the county is 197.
Johnson County has reported 748 new cases, for a total of 13,634 since March. Johnson’s average new cases in seven days is 122.
DEATH
Of the 15 new confirmed deaths reported on Friday, seven occurred among individuals over 80 and eight were adults between 61 and 80 years old.
The deaths occurred between 16 January and 16 February.
Black Hawk County reported four deaths and Polk County reported two deaths.
The counties that reported one death each were Butler, Clinton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Howard, Lucas, Pocahontas, Scott and Story.
Hospitalizations
The number of Iowa hospitalized with the virus dropped from 252 to 241 in the 24-hour period that ended at 11 am on Friday.
The number of patients in intensive care increased from 59 to 60, and the number of patients on ventilators increased from 24 to 26.
Long-term care
As of 11 am on Friday, 24 of Iowa’s long-term care centers were experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19, according to public health data.
At these facilities, 679 individuals tested positive for the virus.
Since the start of the pandemic, 2,129 people inside the facility have died from the virus.
Vaccinations
As of Friday, Iowa had administered 553,428 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 531,970 doses going to Iowa residents.
Across the state, 278,658 people took the first photo in the series of two photos and 137,385 people took the two photos.
In Linn County, 37,894 doses were administered and 9,784 people – 5.61% of the county’s adult population – completed both vaccines.
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In Johnson County, 38,158 doses were administered, with 11,842 people – 9.78% of the county’s population – having completed both vaccines.
Who can get the vaccine?
Frontline healthcare professionals, residents and employees at long-term care facilities, and residents 65 and older are eligible to receive vaccines now.
Iowans under the age of 65 may qualify for a vaccine if they meet the criteria in the groups below. Phase 1B layers are ranked in order of vaccination priority:
• Level 1: first responders, such as firefighters, police and child welfare social workers; school staff and early childhood educators and early childhood educators.
• Level 2: Food, agriculture, distribution and manufacturing workers who work or live in congregated environments that do not allow social distance; disabled people living at home and their caregivers.
• Level 3: Staff and residents in congregated living environments that include shelters, behavioral health treatment centers, sober living homes and detention centers (but not university dormitories); government officials and officials working at the Iowa Capitol during the legislative session.
• Level 4: Inspectors responsible for hospitals, long-term care and child safety
• Level 5: Correctional facility staff and people incarcerated at state and local facilities.
People who do not meet these criteria will have to wait. The state will announce when other ages and occupational categories qualify.
Comments: (319) 398-8238; [email protected]
Stephen Colbert and John McGlothlen of The Gazette contributed.
