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Iowa today reported its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 deaths, topping the mark set one week ago.
Today the Iowa of Department of Public Health reported another 47 additional deaths due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. In total, 2,271 people with COVID-19 have died in Iowa, according to the state's Coronavirus.Iowa.gov website.
There have been 49 cases added to the total case count in the last 24 hours. Woodbury County continues to experience significant community spread of COVID-19. The county now has reached more than 10 thousand cases of the coronavirus and 96 deaths, according to Siouxland District Health.
Since the pandemic arrived in early March, more than 218 thousand people have tested positive for the coronavirus. Another 3,365 coronavirus cases have been reported since yesterday.
The increases come as Iowa hospitals struggle with the coronavirus surge.
The chairperson of the Iowa Hospital Association warned yesterday that the Iowa hospital region that includes the state's most populous area has at times in the last week been down to two or three intensive care unit beds as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lack of beds and staffing shortages have forced some Iowa hospitals to transfer patients to other facilities, Kirk Morris, the president of the association, said at a news conference.
The number of Iowans making initial claims for jobless benefits rose 58% last week, the most new claims in more than four months, according to federal data released Wednesday morning.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 9,458 Iowans filed new unemployment claims in the week ended Saturday, up from 5,992 new claims the week before.
