After weeks of decline, Iowa’s COVID infection rate increases

The state’s COVID-19 infection rate increased for the first time in more than a month, according to a Wednesday report by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

The state reported 1,915 new confirmed cases for the past week among those who have not been previously infected by the coronavirus. That’s a 27% increase from the previous week.

The overall infection trend has been downward since early August. It’s unclear yet whether the recent uptick in cases will continue in the coming weeks. The nation’s infection rate has plateaued after declining since July, according to the New York Times.

The total number of reported new infections for the past week might have been as high as 2,334, according to state testing data. The state does not include subsequent infections of the same person in its weekly new case counts. Infections detected by at-home rapid tests are also not included in the case data.

HHS also reported 25 deaths related to the virus. It’s unclear when they occurred. A total of 10,177 people have died after being infected since the start of the pandemic.

There were 153 infected people receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That’s an increase of about 6% from a week ago. Of those currently hospitalized, 19 are under intensive care.

The areas of Iowa with the highest risk for infection are to the north and northeast, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It listed Clayton and Delaware in a report late last week as having high threats of infection based on per-capita infection and hospitalization rates.

About 74% of all adults in Iowa are vaccinated against the virus, according to the CDC. That number drops to about 64% when all children are included. Of those who are vaccinated, about 56% have had a booster dose.

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