Iowa COVID hospitalizations rise despite declining cases

The state’s COVID-19 infection rate declined for the fourth straight week, according to newly released public health data, but hospitalizations increased.

Those who are infected by the coronavirus and receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals totaled 264 on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported. Of those, 30 were under intensive care.

That’s an 8% increase from a week ago but is a substantially smaller number than the 323 people who were hospitalized two weeks ago.

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 4,802 new cases on Wednesday for the past week. That’s a 2% decrease from the number of weekly cases reported a week ago.

Those figures do not include the results of at-home rapid tests, which are not tracked by the state.

IDPH also reported 25 new deaths among those who were infected, for a pandemic total of 9,907. It’s unclear when those deaths occurred.

The highest threats for infection continue to be primarily in northern and eastern Iowa, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The threat is low for much of central Iowa — including the Des Moines metro area — based on per-capita infection and hospitalization rates.