The surge in new cases of COVID-19 in Johnson County continued on Monday, as the Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 26 residents of the county tested positive during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. The new cases mean the county has experienced double-digit increases in confirmed cases of the virus for 20 consecutive days.
According to IDPH, a total of 1,304 residents of Johnson County have tested positive for COVID-19 in the 120 days since the virus was first confirmed in the county in March. Almost half those cases — 628 or 48.2 percent — have been reported since the current surge began on June 17.
IDPH considers 760 of the Johnson County residents who have tested positive to be recovered. (Starting last week, the department changed how it counts recovered cases and now considers anyone who tests positive to be recovered after 28 days unless the department is informed otherwise.) Eight Johnson County residents have died from the virus.
Statewide, IDPH reported that another 413 Iowans tested positive for COVID-19 during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. on Monday, including 18 residents of Linn County. The new cases bring the state’s total number of confirmed cases to 31,686.
For the second consecutive day, IDPH reported no new deaths from the virus.
According to IDPH, 24,918 of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 are now considered recovered and 721 have died from the virus.
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 Monday was 11.5 percent. In Linn County, the positivity rate was 4.9 percent. Johnson County had a positivity rate of 9.3 percent.
