Iowa sees jump in COVID-19 cases, mostly due to testing at meat processing facilities

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State health officials say the number of cases of coronavirus in Iowa increased more than 15% on Sunday to 2,902 due to testing at meat process facilities.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Sunday that 261 (67 percent) of the new cases are related to testing at the facilities.

It includes “over 500 completed surveillance tests of Tyson employees and over 500 completed surveillance tests of National Beef employees, for a total of 84 positive and 177 positive respectively,” the governor said in a press release.

The Iowa Department of Public Health said Sunday that 389 additional cases of COVID-19 and one additional death related to the virus had been confirmed.

The state has now reported 75 deaths linked to the virus.

According to the IDPH COVID-19 dashboard, no new lab-confirmed cases have been identified in our immediate listening area.

The person who died was an adult between the ages of 61 and 80 from Muscatine County. For most people, coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks. For some people, the virus can cause more severe illness and death.

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Press release from the Iowa Department of Public Health:

Today, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has been notified of 389 additional positive cases for a total of 2,902 positive cases. There have been an additional 1,214 negative tests for a total of 21,648 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs.

According to IDPH, an additional 1 death was also reported (1 older adult, 61-80 years in Muscatine County), 198 are currently hospitalized, and 1,171 Iowans have recovered.

261 or 67% of today’s 389 additional positive cases can be attributed to surveillance testing of meat processing facilities. That includes over 500 completed surveillance tests of Tyson employees and over 500 completed surveillance tests of National Beef employees, for a total of 84 positive and 177 positive respectively.

The state of Iowa has released an updated dashboard on coronavirus.iowa.gov that will be updated daily to include comprehensive tracking of COVID-19 in Iowa. The new dashboard includes cases, deaths, and tests conducted in each county. The state is now providing demographic information that was not previously provided as well as Iowa’s epidemiological curve.