Iowa COVID cases flatten; hospitalizations rise 11% from last week

New confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to hover near the 4,000-per-week mark, and despite a slight dip this past week, hospitalizations were up 11%, according to state and federal data released on Wednesday.

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 3,987 new cases — or about 570 per day — for the past week. That’s down 7% from a week ago, which was a new peak since late March.

Those numbers don’t include at-home rapid tests that aren’t counted by the state. During the January peak, the state was reporting more than that number of cases for each day, rather than each week.

Still, the number of infected people who are receiving in-patient treatment rose to 186, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services data. Of those, 25 were under intensive care, compared with 21 last week.

The state’s latest report included no new deaths among people who were infected, compared with 12 last week.

Overall, the counties with the greatest threat of infection are in far northern and southern Iowa, according to the most recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although the county with the highest threat was Poweshiek in central Iowa. The CDC has downgraded Johnson County from “high” to “medium.” The next report is expected Thursday.

Those ratings are based on per-capita infections and hospitalizations. Most of the state is ranked as “low,” but the other medium counties include: Allamakee, Appanoose, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Davis, Howard, Floyd, Franklin, Kossuth, Hancock, Pocahontas, Ringgold, Wayne, Winnebago, Winneshiek and Worth.