JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — The coronavirus infection rate in Iowa appeared to be showing signs of slowing on Tuesday but the number of people hospitalized with illness and dying with COVID-19 remained high, according to public health data.
Some of the decline in case positivity could be due to reduced testing around the Thanksgiving holiday. Some hospital officials were bracing for another surge in positive tests and illness due to Thanksgiving family gatherings.
Iowa’s seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate declined in the past two weeks but remained third in the nation at 41.24% on Nov. 30, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
The average of daily deaths in Iowa has risen over the past two weeks from 20 deaths per day on Nov. 16 to 28 deaths per day on Nov. 30, Johns Hopkins data showed. Iowa posted 24 deaths on Tuesday, raising the state total to 2,427. In November, more than 680 people died from the virus.
According to the state Department of Public Health, there were another 1,906 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours as of Tuesday morning. Hospitals reported 1,172 patients with COVID-19, up 10 from the day before.
The state reported 162 long-term care facilities had virus outbreaks.
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