OVER THE WEEKEND. STACEY: IN MORE CORONAVIRUS NEWS TONIGHT JUST A DAY AFTER THE GOVERNOR RELAXED STATEWIDE SAFETY GUIDELINES, ONE CENTRAL IOWA COMMUNITY IS DOING THE SAME. KCCI’S LAUREN JOHNSON EXPLAINS WHY AND WHY ANOTHER CITY IS CHOOSING TO KEEP ITS OWN REQUIREMENT IN PLACE. >> WE KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND IT DOESN’T REQUIRE A GOVERNMENT MANDATE TO DO IT. LAUREN: ON WEDNESDAY, GOVERNOR REYNOLDS SAYS SHE’S CONFIDENT IOWANS WILL STOP THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 WITHOUT A STATEWIDE MASK MANDATE. WITHOUT THAT GUIDANCE COMMUNITIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO DO WHAT’S BEST FOR THEIR RESIDENTS. >> THE RESOLUTION WE PASSED THIS LAST MONDAY WAS JUST A RESOLUTION STRONGLY RECOMMENDING FACE COVERINGS IN CARROLL COUNTY. LAUREN: PREVIOUSLY, THE COUNTY HAD MANDATED WEARING MASKS. THIS CHANGE WASN’T SOMETHING THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT ADVISED. >> WELL, THEY KIND OF WANTED US TO STAY MANDATED, BUT WE WENT THIS OTHER WAY AND IT WAS BETTER THAN HAVING NOTHING. LAUREN: AND WHILE CARROLL COUNTY’S 7-DAY POSITIVITY RATE SITS UNDER BOTH THE STATE AND NATIONAL AVERAGE AT 5%. OTHER COMMUNITIES SAY THEY AREN’T BUDGING ON THEIR RESTRICTIONS. >> IT’S UNFORTUNATE THAT THERE HAS BEEN A LETTING UP IN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE. LAUREN: IN DES MOINES, MAYOR FRANK COWNIE SAYS NOW ISN’T THE TIME TO LET UP, EVEN WITH VACCINE ROLL OUT. >> I DON’T THINK THAT’S SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH YET TO BE THERE. I THINK WE GOT TO BE DILIGENT. LET’S HOPE WE GET MORE VACCINATIONS AND WE CAN GET THEM OUT MORE EFFICIENTLY AND EXPEDITIOUSLY. LAUREN THE MAYOR SAYS THE : DECISION TO LESSEN MANDATES WITHIN CITY LIMITS WILL COME FROM THE GUIDANCE OF HEALTH CARE WORKERS. >> WHEN I FEEL THAT OUR HEALTHCARE OFFICIALS GIVE ME THUMBS UP THAT HEY WE’RE SEEING A LOT OF POSITIVE PROGRESS HERE, LET’S WORK TOGETHER AND MAYBE WE CAN START EASING THINGS UP. LAUREN: GOVERNOR REYNOLDS SAID LAST WEEK HER DECISION TO LIFT THOSE RESTRICTIONS CAME AS INFECTION RATES WERE DECREASING THROUGHOUT THE STATE. SHE SAID HER DECISION ALWAYS COMES
More than 300,000 Iowans have recovered from COVID-19
Updated: 9:59 AM CST Feb 12, 2021
The Iowa Department of Public Health reports more than 300,000 Iowans have recovered from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. The health department reported 738 new positive cases and 27 additional deaths Friday. At 10 a.m., the health department reported 327,993 total positive cases, 300,368 total recoveries and 5,223 total deaths since the pandemic began. A day earlier, the health department reported 327,255 total cases and 5,196 total deaths.The state reports 410,771 vaccine doses have been administered and 107,890 individuals have received both vaccine doses. Polk County leads the state with nearly 77,000 vaccine doses administered. Learn how you can get vaccinated in Iowa here.Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate dropped from 8.4% to 8.2% and the 7-day average increased from 6.2% to 6.3%. State data shows 1,508,875 Iowans have been tested for the virus, while 3,817,673 tests have been administered.Adair County remains the only county in Iowa with a 14-day positivity rate greater than 15%. Adair County reports a 22% rate. The next highest county, Crawford County, reports a 13.5% rate. Mitchell County reports the lowest average in the state at 2.1%.Iowa’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are at their lowest level since August. There are currently 249 patients hospitalized with the virus, down from 273 the previous day. The health department reports 59 patients in ICU and 33 patients on ventilators.The number of long-term care facilities reporting outbreaks dropped from 38 to 39. The state reports 1,018 positive cases and 659 recoveries among residents and staff within those facilities. There have been 2,131 deaths in Iowa’s care facilities.The Iowa Department of Public Health offers virus data in real-time on this website. KCCI publishes a daily summary of the data at 10 a.m.
DES MOINES, Iowa —
The Iowa Department of Public Health reports more than 300,000 Iowans have recovered from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
The health department reported 738 new positive cases and 27 additional deaths Friday. At 10 a.m., the health department reported 327,993 total positive cases, 300,368 total recoveries and 5,223 total deaths since the pandemic began. A day earlier, the health department reported 327,255 total cases and 5,196 total deaths.
The state reports 410,771 vaccine doses have been administered and 107,890 individuals have received both vaccine doses. Polk County leads the state with nearly 77,000 vaccine doses administered. Learn how you can get vaccinated in Iowa here.
Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate dropped from 8.4% to 8.2% and the 7-day average increased from 6.2% to 6.3%. State data shows 1,508,875 Iowans have been tested for the virus, while 3,817,673 tests have been administered.
Adair County remains the only county in Iowa with a 14-day positivity rate greater than 15%. Adair County reports a 22% rate. The next highest county, Crawford County, reports a 13.5% rate. Mitchell County reports the lowest average in the state at 2.1%.
Iowa’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are at their lowest level since August. There are currently 249 patients hospitalized with the virus, down from 273 the previous day. The health department reports 59 patients in ICU and 33 patients on ventilators.
The number of long-term care facilities reporting outbreaks dropped from 38 to 39. The state reports 1,018 positive cases and 659 recoveries among residents and staff within those facilities. There have been 2,131 deaths in Iowa’s care facilities.
The Iowa Department of Public Health offers virus data in real-time on this website. KCCI publishes a daily summary of the data at 10 a.m.