DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa coronavirus infection hospitalizations continued to rise Friday as the state reported 1,184 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours and 14 more deaths.
Iowa has posted more than 1,000 new cases in four out of the last eight days, and the number of people in hospitals climbed to an all-time high of 461 on Friday. The death toll reached 1,433.
The seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Iowa has risen over the past two weeks from 16.27% on Sept. 24 to 17.17% on Oct. 8, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Iowa’s rate was fourth in the nation.
Virus spread continues across most regions of the state, which has few required limitations. Gov. Kim Reynolds has adopted a voluntary mask and distancing policy approach.
Only seven of Iowa’s 99 counties have a positivity rate of less than 5%. That’s the rate at which many public health officials recommend adoption of measures to slow virus spread including mask use, social distancing and limiting large gatherings of people.
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