DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa posted more than 1,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day as the coronavirus continued to aggressively spread in many areas of the state.
State public health data posted Friday morning indicated 1,142 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours with over 90,700 cases now identified since March. The state posted nine additional deaths for a total of 1,367. Iowa averaged nearly 900 cases a day in the past week.
As of Friday, 85 of Iowa’s 99 counties have a positivity rate exceeding 5%, the rate at which many public health experts recommend a mask mandate. Gov. Kim Reynolds has rejected such a mandate.
