New single-day highs: 334 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Johnson County, among 1,475 statewide

Zach Thompson
Iowa City Press-Citizen

State data showed a new high Thursday morning in the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Johnson County and across the state in a single day.

At 10 a.m. Thursday, Iowa was reporting an additional 1,475 cases of COVID-19 and 18 additional COVID-19-related deaths — including two in Johnson County — since the state's tally at 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to Coronavirus.Iowa.gov. The state was reporting 334 new cases in Johnson County.

Officials report a total of 1,079 people with COVID-19 have died from the disease across the state, including 26 in Johnson County. The deaths reported Thursday were the county's 17th and 18th in the last six weeks. Between June and the first part of July, the county had gone more than seven weeks without reporting a death related to the disease; the first death related to the disease was reported on April 4.

A total of 614,995 Iowans have been tested for the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus, which causes the disease, including 29,878 in Johnson County. A total of 59,368 have tested positive in Iowa. The state was reporting a total of 3,075 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Johnson County.

UI officials reported Monday morning that a total of 107 students and four staff members had self-reported testing positive for the disease since Aug. 18. After a weekend of packed bars in downtown Iowa City, UI President Bruce Harreld told students Monday that it's incumbent on them to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

"As you know, universities like ours have recently moved instruction online when students failed to follow their university and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines in order to reduce COVID-19 transmission," he wrote. "To that end, each of you chose to be here, and now the choices you make as an individual will determine the outcome for everyone."

Johnson County Public Health Department Dave Koch wrote in a statement Wednesday that the surge in cases is expected to continue.

"We want to remind the community that the state disaster proclamation remains in effect and that if large social gatherings 'mass gatherings' are to occur, that physical distancing and other public health measures are required," he wrote. "The onus is on you."

In an open letter to Iowa City businesses Tuesday, Harreld said everyone is responsible for following Reynolds' proclamations and local mandates. He also criticized local businesses.

"Over the past two weeks, I have been exceedingly disappointed in some of the downtown Iowa City businesses and your choices to disregard the proclamation from the governor," he wrote. "These actions have led to an increase in the transmission of COVID-19 in our community, and we, as a community, will now have to respond."

He called on business owners to ensure 6 feet of distance between their patrons and that each has a seat at a table or bar, as required by Reynolds' orders. Harreld said what businesses do will impact the choice students made to return to campus.

"The university wants them here and the university knows how to keep them safe," he wrote. "Please help them stay here by doing your part."

Several organizations have been calling on the university to move classes to an online format for weeks citing the anticipated surge in cases. In response, university officials have said the large student and staff community has a diverse set of opinions on whether or not to return to classes and it would leave the decision to individuals.

As of 10 a.m. Thursday, 86 people were hospitalized with the virus in the state's fifth Regional Medical Coordination Center, which includes Clinton, Des Moines, Henry, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk, Lee, Muscatine, Scott, Van Buren, Wapello and Washington counties, five fewer than what was reported Wednesday morning, which set a new high for the region. The last peak, 88 hospitalized patients, was set April 22.

Intensive care unit admissions related to the virus returned to levels not seen since April 23 Wednesday morning and remained there 24 hours later: 36 patients were being cared for in the region's intensive care units Thursday morning. The region hit a peak of 39 ICU patients on April 22.

According to the state website, the region has 307 general hospital beds and 64 ICU beds available for area coronavirus patients.

A total of 88 people incarcerated at Coralville's Iowa Medical and Classification Center and seven staff members are currently positive for the disease, a spike that was first disclosed early last week.

The state continues to report an outbreak at Solon's Nursing Care Center, where 38 cases have been confirmed; 26 have recovered.

► Coronavirus cases are increasing in Iowa:Here's how to track COVID-19 in Johnson County

More on COVID-19 in Iowa:

Coronavirus in Iowa, by the numbers

Numbers reported by the state for Johnson County and all of Iowa, respectively, as of 10 a.m. Thursday. Numbers in parentheses represent change over the previous 24 hours.

  • Total tested: 29,878 (+705); 614,995 (+7,468)
  • Total confirmed: 3,075 (+334, or 47.38%); 59,368 (+1,475, or 19.75%)
  • Johnson County's 14-day average positivity rate: 23.74%*
  • Total recoveries: 1,872 (+23); 45,362 (+499)
  • Total deaths: 26 (+2); 1,079 (+18)
  • Hospitalized in RMCC Region 5: 86 (-5)
  • Receiving ICU care in RMCC Region 5: 36 (-)

RMCC Region 5 includes Clinton, Des Moines, Henry, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk, Lee, Muscatine, Scott, Van Buren, Wapello and Washington counties.

Source: Iowa Department of Public Health

*Given reports that the state's system had been wrongly back-dating COVID-19 test results by months, in some cases, the Press-Citizen is reporting a 14-day positivity rate based on its own tracking and not using the state's figure, which was 16.5% Wednesday. State officials have since claimed that the "glitch" had been fixed.

Zach Thompson is the editor of the Press-Citizen and can be reached at zthompson@press-citizen.com. Follow him on Twitter at @zthomp.

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