Iowa hit a new record high in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, with the Iowa Department of Public Health reporting 501 patients with confirmed cases of the virus in the state’s hospitals as of Tuesday morning, breaking the previous record of 482 patients set last week.
As hospitalizations have grown in recent weeks, Gov. Reynolds suggested that the surge can be explained in part by people who have previously delayed procedures requiring hospitalizations now seeking that care and are tested for COVID-19 as part of the admission process. The governor, however, has also conceded that uncontrolled spread of the virus in Iowa is also driving the numbers.
Of the 501 patients reported by IDPH, 122 were in intensive care units, an increase from 113 the previous day.
At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, IDPH was reporting a total 108,297 had tested positive for COVID-19 since the virus was first detected in the state on March 8, an increase of 727 cases since the same time on Monday. Among the newly reported cases were 23 residents of Johnson County and 32 residents of Linn County.
IDPH lists 83,463 of the 108,297 people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 as recovered. Since June, IDPH has considered all COVID-19 patients to automatically be recovered 28 days after they test positive, unless the department is informed otherwise.
IDPH also reported another 14 deaths from the virus during the 24 hour period ending at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Among the deceased were two residents of Linn County. The newly reported deaths brought Iowa’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,548.
