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Marshall County records 11th highest virus case amount

ap photo Gov. Kim Reynolds disputed reports that hospitals are at capacity due to COVID-19 infections during a press conference on Thursday.

Another COVID-19 related death was reported in Marshall County this week as the county rises to 11th most positive cases recorded in Iowa.

There have been 38 local deaths tied to the novel coronavirus in the county, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

IDPH recorded 4,410 new positive cases across the state Thursday, including 66 in Marshall County which has a total of 2,807 since the start of the pandemic. Of those who tested positive, 1,866 have recovered.

Another 30 Iowa deaths were reported in the last day, bringing the total deaths in the state to 1,929.

According to USAfacts.org, 237,387 people have died in the United States. The nonprofit site differs from IDPH in its statistics for Iowa. It reports 1,872 deaths in Iowa and 2,678 known cases in Marshall County.

During a press conference Thursday, Gov. Kim Reynolds noted while the highest number of cases appear in counties with the highest populations, rural areas have not been spared.

“Smaller rural counties are far exceeding them when we compare cases by population per 100,000,” she said. “We’re seeing significant community spread across our entire state in our metro and rural communities. COVID-19 does not discriminate based on geography.”

Reynolds disputed reports that hospitals are at capacity. 

According to IDPH, 1,208 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 infections, including 207 new hospitalizations in the last 24 hours. Of those patients, 215 are in intensive care units and 101 are on ventilators.

“Recent news coverage has warned Iowans that hospital beds in some areas are full, suggesting that people may not be able to receive care,” Reynolds said. “My team and DPH is in regular contact with health systems and hospital leaders and they assure the team and me that is not the case.”

Elderly Iowans, especially those in long term care facilities, have been greatly impacted by the spread of the virus. There are 100 active outbreaks in nursing homes, including one at Southridge Specialty Care in Marshalltown. The local facility is reporting 26 positive cases and six recoveries on the IDPH COVID-19 dashboard. 

During the governor’s press conference, Iowa Department of Education Director Ann Lebo said 43 school districts have been approved by waiver to conduct schooling online during the current spike in cases. The percentage of positive cases in the last 14 days is 22.2, and in Marshall County it is 21.4. Higher than 10.1 percent is considered a red zone for test positivity.

Iowa has the fourth highest rate of infection according to a report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force issued Sunday. Ninety-six percent of all counties have high levels of community transmission. 

The national average of cases per 100,000 is 209. Iowa’s is 621.

The task force is recommending weekly testing for communities such as teachers, students, county workers, staff in crowded settings, hospital employees and large private sector employers. It is also recommending avoiding gatherings beyond household family until the community spread reduces and is considered in the yellow zone for test positivity or between 5-10 percent.

Marshall County has the 11th highest number of COVID-19 cases in Iowa

The counties with highest numbers include:

CUMULATIVE CASES ACTIVE CASES

Polk — 25,556 7,883

Linn — 10,406 5,507

Woodbury — 8,824 2,117

Black Hawk — 8,458 3,351

Johnson — 7,770 2,209

Scott — 7,761 3,594

Dubuque — 7,312 2,752

Story — 5,204 2,752

Dallas — 4,853 1,622

Pottawattamie — 3,773 1,020

Sioux — 3,075 828

Marshall — 2,731 1,001

ACCORDING TO IDPH DATA:

Race:

• Caucasian, 69 percent

• Hispanic or Latino, 9 percent

• African American, 4 percent

• Asian, 2 percent

Age:

• 18-40, 43 percent

• 41-60, 28 percent

• 61-80, 15 percent

• 0-17, 9 percent

• 80 or older, 4 percent

Sex:

• Female, 51 percent

• Male, 47 percent

——

Contact Joe Fisher at 641-753-6611 or jfisher@timesrepublican.com

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