Spread of COVID-19 continues to accelerate in Iowa

The spread of COVID-19 continues to accelerate as last week saw the number of new cases reach its highest point since the start of the pandemic.

     As of Sunday, July 12, there have been 35,070 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, increasing the 31,353 total from the week prior by 3,717 cases. Not only is this a new high in the number of new weekly cases, but it marks a significant uptick in the rate of new cases being discovered.

     In total, an estimated 1,402 elderly adults (age 80+), 4,208 older adults (61-80); 10,521 middle aged adults (41-60); 16,834 young adults (18-40); and 1,754 children have tested positive for the disease. These estimates are based on a percentage-based breakdown of the state's reported positive cases. As the total number of cases increase, the less accurate these estimates will become. A single percentage point difference can change an estimate by more than 350 cases.

     With 26,239 cases considered recovered, that leaves roughly 8,000 Iowans currently fighting the disease.

     Current testing shows that roughly 63% of positive cases result in symptoms while 13% have been asymptomatic, with the remaining cases pending or unknown.

     The number of severe cases of COVID-19 is climbing as well, with 177 currently hospitalized and 54 patients in an ICU.

     After several weeks of decline, the death rate increased last week with 29 new deaths, bringing the total to 750. Approximately 353 elderly, 300 older adults, 75 middle aged adults, and 22 young adults have died from the virus since the pandemic began.

     Of these deaths, 396 have been attributed to people in long term care facilities, who remain the most vulnerable to the disease.

     On the upside, the number of outbreaks reported in Long Term Care facilities is still on the decline, with only 16 current facilities managing outbreaks, bringing the number of active positive cases down to 334.

     For testing, 375,581 Iowans have been tested since the start of the pandemic, with more than 6,000 tests on average per day over the last week.

     Test Iowa reached another milestone last week, surpassing 100,000 tests completed since opening on April 25.

     “In the face of a global pandemic, we had to be bold, ambitious, and move quickly to launch a comprehensive initiative to combat the spread of COVID19 in Iowa and protect the lives and livelihoods of Iowans,” said Gov. Reynolds. “Test Iowa has not only provided our state with critical testing capacity, but realtime, in-depth data and analysis to inform our response to the pandemic.”

     35,359 Iowans have also undergone serology testing for coronavirus antibodies, which would indicate that they have had the virus. Of that number, 2,428, about 7%, have tested positive for antibodies.