Documented COVID cases plummet in Iowa

Iowa's COVID-19 infection rate declined about 40% over the past week, according to state health data.

An Iowa Department of Health and Human Services update on Wednesday showed 2,148 infections in the past week among people who were not previously infected by the coronavirus. The total number of positive tests was 2,808, which includes reinfections of people who had already contracted COVID-19.

The state does not include reinfections in the new documented cases it reports to federal health officials. And the state does not track the results of at-home, rapid tests.

The number of infected people who are receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals declined 11% from a week ago. On Wednesday, there were 243 people hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those, 20 were under intensive care.

The state also on Wednesday reported 36 new deaths that might have been caused by the virus, for a total of 10,423 since the start of the pandemic.

More than half of the state has an elevated risk of the virus, according to a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis of infection and hospitalization rates. Counties where the virus’ “community levels” are rated “medium” or “high” are in western Iowa and far northern and eastern parts of the state.

The CDC rated the Des Moines metro area “low.” However, testing by the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority shows coronavirus concentrations in wastewater are among the highest they’ve been during the pandemic.

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