An illustration of a coronavirus, created for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Image by Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM)
The statewide number of new COVID-19 cases topped 900 on Friday, setting a new Iowa record for the highest daily total recorded so far during the 2020 pandemic.
Although the daily number of new infections was reported by the Iowa Department of Public Health to be 628 on Friday, July 10, the New York Times’ database, which includes probable as well as confirmed infections, showed 916 cases for the day.
The New York Times data shows that the previous daily high for new infections was May 2, when Iowa recorded 758 infections.
The Times also reported 715 new cases in Iowa on Sunday, while IDPH reported less than half that number — 326 — for the same day.
Friday’s high, coupled with Sunday’s 715 new cases — which is the third highest daily tally since the beginning of the pandemic — have helped push Iowa’s seven-day average in new infections upward.
The weekly average of new cases now stands at 543, the highest level since early May.
IDPH is also reporting four additional deaths on Saturday, with no data yet reported for Sunday and Monday. In addition, the agency is reporting an increase in the number of current infections in Iowa nursing homes, from 282 cases late last week to 329 on Monday.
Also on Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a 60-second video in which she said the state has made “significant progress in slowing the spread of COVID-19 … We were able to flatten the curve, open back up and get our state on the road to recovery.”
Saying she doesn’t “want to go backwards,” Reynolds called on Iowans to “step up and take personal responsibility — not because it’s mandated but because it’s the right thing to do — whether it’s wearing masks, practicing social distancing, practicing good hygiene or staying home when we’re sick.”
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