Iowa coronavirus trends continue to worsen as increasing numbers of hospitalizations further stress hospitals and health care workers as they try to keep up with the surge.
Iowa Department of Public Health data showed almost 4,800 additional cases in the past 24 hours, and 26 more deaths, bringing the state total to 1,898. There are two more deaths in Woodbury County, for 105 in all.
It was the fifth consecutive day Iowa reported more than 4,000 new cases a day.
State data indicated 1,190 people were in Iowa hospitals with COVID-19 and 230 admitted in the past 24 hours. That is the highest single-day number since the beginning of the pandemic and a an almost 40% increase from the day before. The number of patients at Sioux City’s two facilities is 80, with 56 battling COVID-19 alone.
Ninety-two of Iowa’s 99 counties have a 14-day test positivity rate of more than 15%. Woodbury County is at 22% and the only county in northwest Iowa below the 15% threshold is Monona at 12.5%. Jones County is number one in the state with 44.5. percent after an outbreak at a state correctional facility in Anamosa.
The Des Moines Register reports experts from the White House are urging the state to take immediate action to require masks, boost testing and take more steps to stop the outbreak.
The task force reports Iowa has the fourth steepest coronavirus outbreak in the country, behind only North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Governor Kim Reynolds did issue a partial mask mandate for social gathers and certain businesses in the service industry. She says “Iowa is open for business and we intend to keep it that way.”
Drake University is moving all classes online because increasing infections in Des Moines. WHO-TV reports virtual classes started today and will continue through the rest of the semester. There are currently 200 students in isolation or quarantine.
Briar Cliff University is currently in a hybrid format with online and in-person instruction. A spokesperson says after Thanksgiving break classes will move completely online through Christmas break. However, some learning will take place in-person, like internships, student teaching ad clinicals. University officials continually monitor campus and community cases to determine appropriate operational adjustments.
A representative from Morningside College says the school currently doesn’t have a plan to go online for the rest of the fall semester. The campus is currently under an operation level of yellow, which means risk is considered low to moderate for all but high-risk individuals with learning and working taking place primarily in person with guidelines in place to limit contact and large group gatherings.
Nebraska continues to set records with the number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus and health care providers expect that to continue because of the recent surge of cases in the state. Several new virus restrictions took effect in Nebraska on Wednesday. The state says the number of virus hospitalizations jumped to 860 on Tuesday and it reported its second-highest one-day total of new cases at almost 2,200.
South Dakota has reported 27 new COVID-19 deaths, one of its highest one-day counts. The Department of Health has already reported 142 deaths during the month of November, setting a pace of deaths likely to surpass October’s 202 deaths reported. During that month, South Dakota had the nation’s second-highest number of deaths per capita, according to Johns Hopkins data. The state has spent weeks dealing with one of the nation’s worst rates for coronavirus cases per capita. The state's largest city, Sioux Falls, rejected a proposed mask mandate on Tuesday night.
South Dakota has reported 27 new COVID-19 deaths, one of its highest one-day counts. The Department of Health has already reported 142 deaths during the month of November, setting a pace of deaths likely to surpass October’s 202 deaths reported. During that month, South Dakota had the nation’s second-highest number of deaths per capita, according to Johns Hopkins data. The state has spent weeks dealing with one of the nation’s worst rates for coronavirus cases per capita. The state's largest city, Sioux Falls, rejected a proposed mask mandate on Tuesday night.
Support Siouxland Soldiers plans to distribute 13,000 pounds of groceries and 200 turkeys for Veterans Day. The Drive-through distribution takes place at Long Lines Rec Center starting at 6 p.m. Proof of service is required for veterans and military families.
Members of the Sioux City Community School District’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps
(AFJROTC) hosted a Veterans Day event at the Floyd Monument including the presentation of the colors, wreath-laying and flag-folding ceremony. They also was holding a vigil for the fifth year in a row.
The University of South Dakota honored veterans at the newly dedicated Patriots Plaza on campus in Vermillion. The memorial pays tribute to all military members and veterans and commemorates the first 100 years of Army ROTC at USD.
A judge in western Iowa says he will announce a verdict Friday in the case of a man accused of killing his grandmother in 2018. Eliot Stowe is charged with first-degree murder for the beating death of 66-year-old Cheryl Stowe at her rural home in Castana in June 2018. The Sioux City Journal reports that Stowe waived his right to a jury trial, so a judge heard evidence during a four-day trial in August. Cheryl Stowe’s body was found wrapped in a rug and duct tape at the edge of a cornfield near her home. Prosecutors say Eliot Stowe had beaten her with a baseball bat. Eliot Stowe's defense team has argued he's not guilty by reason of insanity.
