For the fourth consecutive week, Marshall County recorded a new COVID-19 related death.

Eighty-three Marshall County residents have died with COVID infection since the start of the pandemic. Across the state, 6,654 people have died, including 91 in the last week, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Fifty-six percent of Iowa’s deaths have been among people 80 years old and up. Fifty-three percent of deaths have been among males, and 507 people did not have pre-existing conditions, which is about eight percent.

Iowa’s seven-day positivity rate is 9.5 percent, which shows virus activity has slightly slowed in the last week. This is reflected in Marshall County as well where the positivity rate is down about a percentage point to 6 percent.

Twenty-three percent of positive cases have been diagnosed in children 17 years old or younger, the most of any age group. Only about three percent of cases are in people 80 and older.

COVID is again hitting long-term care facilities hard despite a push to vaccinate residents. There are 31 active outbreaks, though the IDPH no longer reports where the outbreaks are.

While the overall spread of infection appears to have leveled off this week, hospitalization numbers are still climbing. There are 626 patients hospitalized who are COVID positive, including 92 admitted in the last 24 hours. Of those patients, 141 are in intensive care, and just 27 percent of inpatient beds are available. COVID patients make up more than 74 percent of all hospitalized patients. People not fully vaccinated against the virus represent more than 85 percent of all patients hospitalized with COVID-19. About 74 percent of Iowa’s COVID patients have COVID infection listed as their primary diagnosis. Hospitalizations have increased steadily since July 1 when there were just 72 patients.

The Marshalltown Community School District reported 33 student cases on Friday along with six faculty cases. The Iowa Valley Community College District, which relies on self-reporting to count positive cases, reported two at Marshalltown Community College.

Marshall County has reached a full vaccination rate of 70 percent. For people 65 and older, the rate of vaccination in the county is about 92 percent. About 66 percent of adults in Iowa are fully vaccinated, and about 68 percent of children 12 or older have been given at least one dose. Statewide, more than 3.5 million doses have been administered.

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Contact Joe Fisher at

news@timesrepublican.com.