New COVID cases in north-central Iowa up slightly compared to last week

MASON CITY — New COVID case rates in north-central Iowa in the past week are slightly up when compared to the week before.

According to new data from the Iowa Department of Public Health, 395 new cases of coronavirus were detected in the nine-county KGLO News listening area of Cerro Gordo and the eight surrounding counties in the past week, compared to 357 the week before.

17% of the new cases in the listening area are in those under the age of 18, while 20% are in the 18-29 age group. In Cerro Gordo County, 22% of the positive tests in the past week are under the age of 18, while 24% are aged 18-29.

The listening area’s seven-day positivity rate is at 8.1% compared to 8% last week, while the 14-day positivity rate is at 7.9%, down from last week’s 8.6%. Wright County continues to see the worst positivity rates in our listening area, with the seven-day rate of 17.9% and 14-day rate of 17.3%.

Eight new deaths have been reported in the listening area in the last week, with four of those deaths in Cerro Gordo County and single deaths in Butler, Floyd, Hancock and Mitchell counties.

Hospitalization numbers are down in the north-central Iowa medical region. Two weeks ago, 53 people were in a north-central Iowa hospital, with only 27 hospitalized currently. Of those 27, 22 were not vaccinated, and there were not any patients under the age of 30.