The Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 701 residents tested positive for COVID-19 during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. on Thursday. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 36,737.
The positivity rate — the percentage of people tested who were confirmed as having COVID-19 — from 10 a.m. on Wednesday to 10 a.m. on Thursday statewide was 8.6 percent. A total of 8,147 people were tested.
IDPH also reported that 18 Iowans have died, increasing the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 777. The last time more than 18 deaths were reported in a single day was on June 2 with 20 deaths.
During the same 24-hour period, one in 10 Johnson County residents tested positive for the virus.
IDPH reported that another 45 county residents tested positive from 10 a.m. on Wednesday to 10 a.m. on Thursday, bringing the county’s total number of confirmed cases to 1,552. A total of 447 people were tested during the 24-hour period for a positivity rate of 10.1 percent.
The increase reported during the 24-hour period brings Johnson County to 30 days of consecutive double-digit increases since the current surge began on June 17.
IDPH reported another 37 Linn County residents tested positive for the virus as of 10 a.m. on Thursday. This is the county’s highest single-day increase of confirmed cases since April 27 when 40 cases were reported during a 24-hour period.
The county’s positivity rate during the 24-hour period was 6.9 percent. The total number of confirmed cases is now 1,470, according to IDPH.
Chicago order affects Iowa visitors
Iowans traveling to Chicago will have to quarantine for 14 days or face possible fines, starting Friday.
Chicago first issued an emergency travel order earlier this month but expanded it on Tuesday to include Iowa and Oklahoma. States are added based on the amount of daily new cases per 100,000 residents. There are 17 states part of Chicago’s travel quarantine list, including Iowa.
Iowans visiting Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island are also asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Additional outbreaks reported in long-term care facilities
IDPH has announced the first outbreak of COVID-19 at a long-term care facility in Johnson County, as well as an additional outbreak in Linn County. IDPH defines an outbreak at a long-term care facility as three or more residents testing positive for the virus.
Solon Nursing Care Center in Solon has 12 positive cases as of 10 a.m. on Thursday, according to IDPH.
In Linn County, IDPH reported that Winslow House Care Center in Marion is experiencing an outbreak. There are three positive cases and one individual has recovered, according to IDPH.
This is Linn County’s seventh outbreak at a long-term care facility. Five facilities have recovered and two outbreaks are considered ongoing. In addition to the outbreak at Winslow House, Willow Gardens Care Center in Marion has been experiencing an outbreak since early June. As of Thursday at 10 a.m., IDPH reported that 38 residents have tested positive and 30 have recovered.
