CONTRIBUTED PHOTO — Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests from COVIDtests.gov.

As the reporting mechanism for COVID-19 in Iowa has moved from a separate coronavirus website into the Iowa Department of Public Health’s (IDPH’s) site, case numbers both in Marshall County and across the state continue to drop substantially.

According to Marshall County Public Health, just 160 new cases were reported locally over the last week, and IDPH has recorded one new death to bring the total to 102 since the start of the pandemic. The rate of fully vaccinated residents in Marshall County ticked up slightly to 64.6 percent, and county specific positivity rate information was not available on the new site.

Marshall County Public Health Director Pat Thompson said she has not heard complaints about the new reporting thus far and is taking that as a positive sign.

“No one has called me and had any concerns. I think people are accepting that, and it’s kind of where we’re at,” she said.

Thompson added that the county will no longer be posting weekly case numbers from its Facebook page, and she hopes things can get back to something approaching normalcy “with caution.” She also encouraged anyone who is still on the fence to get a booster shot or start the vaccination process with the initial shot if they have not already done so.

Because of the low number of cases and the change in reporting, the Times-Republican will no longer produce a weekly COVID update unless a future surge necessitates such reporting.

COVID-19 in Marshall County

• Seven day percent of positive test rate: N/A

• Seven day percent of positive test rate: N/A

• Seven day number of cases: 160

• CDC transmission level: N/A

• Eligible and Fully vaccinated: 64.6 percent

• New deaths this week: 1

• Total deaths: 102

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255

or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.