Iowa COVID infections continue to steadily increase

Iowa’s COVID-19 infection rate increased about 17% in the past week, and infected people receiving inpatient hospital treatment jumped 35%, according to state and federal health data.

The state reported a similar increase in the infection rate last week after weeks of roughly steady numbers of infections.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services reported on Wednesday 2,700 new cases among those who weren’t previously infected and 3,434 total positive tests for the past week.

The total positive tests include reinfections of people who had tested positive earlier in the pandemic, which the state does not include in the number of new cases it reports to federal health officials.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses those case numbers to determine the threat of the virus in each county. In its most-recent report late last week, the CDC said the virus poses a low risk in nearly all Iowa counties.

On Wednesday, there were 233 infected people receiving inpatient treatment at Iowa hospitals, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That is about 100 more than two weeks ago. Of those currently hospitalized, 23 are under intensive care.

The state also reported on Wednesday 18 more deaths related to COVID-19, for a total of 10,294 since the start of the pandemic. It’s unclear when those deaths occurred.

At least 873,597 people in Iowa have been infected by the coronavirus, according to state testing data. That is about 27% of the state’s total population. The actual number of people who have been infected is likely much larger because of those who didn’t seek testing or used at-home, rapid tests, which are not tracked by the state.

About 64% of the state’s residents have completed their first series of vaccines against the virus. About 57% of those people have received a booster dose.