DES MOINES — Iowa will report 3,891 coronavirus related deaths on the final day of 2020, ending the year with the 15th highest death count per capita in the United States although with a lag time of reporting deaths of up to two weeks, it’s likely not all have been accounted for by Thursday.

The state reported an additional 69 deaths on Thursday ending December with a staggering one-month total of 1,382 reported deaths, about 35% of the entire year’s total and twice the number reported in November. The high number is likely reflective of the escalation of virus transmission in early to mid-November when daily new case counts surged to between 4,000 and 5,000 a day.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds did little during October to slow the spread of the virus. On Nov. 17 she initiated limited mask and crowd size requirements in an effort to slow virus transmission.

Iowa’s death count is the 27th highest in the U.S., according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University and ranked 15th highest in per capita deaths at 121 per 100,000 people.