DES MOINES — Iowa continued to experience widespread coronavirus spread Wednesday with public health data showing 1,217 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours and 11 deaths.

The state has had 1,492 deaths and 101,812 confirmed positive cases since the pandemic began.

The number of people being treated in hospitals for COVID-19 also reached a new high Wednesday of 473 people, and there’s no sign of slowing as the number of people admitted in the past 24 hours was third highest. A region of southeast Iowa had only 18 percent of total inpatient beds available, the state data indicated.

Iowa’s seven-day rolling average positivity rate has risen over the past two weeks from 16.78 percent on Sept. 29 to 18.82 percent on Oct. 13, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Iowa’s rate was fifth in the nation.

State data also shows 18 counties with a 14-day average positivity rate of more than 15 percent, the level at which Gov. Kim Reynolds allows school districts to apply to the state to send students home for online learning temporarily.

Only five of Iowa’s 99 counties had a positivity rate below 5 percent, the level at which many public health expert say measures should be taken to slow virus spread, including mask wearing and limits on the size of gatherings.

The state reported outbreaks in 61 long-term care facilities.