The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 349 more Iowans had tested positive for COVID-19 during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Johnson County residents made up 11 percent of that total. The 39 confirmed cases reported in Johnson County on Wednesday mark the 15th consecutive day the county has seen a double-digit increase in the number of new cases.
The surge of cases in Johnson began on June 17. The week prior to that, Iowa saw its lowest average number of new cases per day; an average of 266 cases a day were reported during the week ending June 14, the Des Moines Register reported on Wednesday. Last week, the average number of new cases reported daily statewide was 383. The average number of new cases reported daily in 64 counties was higher than it had been the previous week, and 28 of those counties — including Johnson — experienced all-time highs in the average number of new cases reported daily.
Among the new cases reported by IDPH on Wednesday morning were nine residents of Linn County. The new cases brought the total number of Iowans who have tested positive for the virus to 29,290. The department also reported another five people have died from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 717.
The statewide positivity rate — the percentage of people being tested who were confirmed as having COVID-19 — for the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. on Wednesday was 7.1 percent. In Linn County, the positivity rate was 2.7 percent. Johnson County had a positivity rate of 7.5 percent.
