(Des Moines) The average county COVID-19 positive rate dropped from 28-percent to 17.5 percent over the past week. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds released the latest statistics during Thursday morning’s press conference.
“At the county level, we’re beginning to see rates stabilize, and these are welcome signs,” said Governor Reynolds. “While we’re cautiously optimistic, we have a lot of work to do to bring the numbers down to a level where we can safely manage the virus while getting life back to normal.”
While hospitalization rates remain high across the State, Wednesday showed a decrease in the number of patients hospitalized for the first time in weeks.
“This gives us hope as well, but we’re far from a downward trend,” said Reynolds.
Governor Reynolds says it will be critical for hospitalization rates to stabilize over the next week. Those rates are monitored on a daily basis while working with hospitals and health care systems to understand their needs. Reynolds says 74 percent of the patients hospitalized are 60-years of age or older.
On the downside, it is reported 20 additional long-term care facility outbreaks bringing the total to 114 out of approximately 443 long-term care facilities in the State.
