DES MOINES, Iowa – On Wednesday, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reports a slight increase in hospitalizations from COVID-19.
Last week, on June 28, Iowa saw its lowest COVID-19 hospitalizations since April 8 – 118. The number has ticked up since, and IDPH reports 149 hospitalized. While the number has increased, it is still far below the daily high of 417 patients that Iowa’s hospitals saw on May 6. The number until last weekend had steadily declined. The 14-day hospitalization trend, 2,176 hospitalized, is at its lowest point since April 19.
There are 37 patients in ICU and 21 Iowans on ventilators. IDPH reports that Iowa’s hospitals have approximately 3,170 inpatient beds, 477 ICU beds, and 802 ventilators available for patients.
This increase corresponds with a spike reported positive cases last week. Since June 19, there have been six days reporting over 350 positive cases, and two of those days reported over 400 cases in one day. IDPH reports, as of 3:45 p.m., the state has 29,446 positive cases. The number of daily positive cases, since IDPH reported 443 on June 26, begun to drop once again.
However, while the number of cases spiked, the positivity rate did not as IDPH reports rates between 5 and 7 percent of tests conducted each day. The overall positivity rate has dropped to 9.5 percent. IDPH reports that 310,214 Iowans have received a test meaning one in ten Iowans have been tested.
IDPH reports that among those testing positive 64 percent experienced symptoms of COVID-19 while 13 percent are asymptomatic. They report 17 percent of cases are still pending investigation, and five percent are unknown.
They also report that the most cases, 47 percent, are among adults between the ages of 18 to 40. Middle-age adults between the ages of 41 to 60 make up 32 percent of the cases. Older Iowans between the ages of 61 to 80 make up 12 percent of the cases, while elderly Iowans (81+) make up four percent of the cases. Those younger than 17 make up five percent of the cases.
IDPH also reports that 25 percent of those testing positive for COVID-19 have pre-existing conditions (they do not define), 52 percent do not, and 24 percent of the cases are unknown. They also report that one in ten Iowans with COVID-19 work in manufacturing.
Iowa has seen 717 residents die from COVID-19, and the daily death rate continues to be on a downward trend. While Iowans 61 and older make up only 16 percent of the state’s positive cases, they make up 88 percent of the state’s deaths.