Northwest Iowa — For the second consecutive week no additional COVID-related deaths have been reported in the four- county area of Lyon, Sioux, O’Brien and Osceola. That according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The lack of additional deaths means the total for the four-county area remains at 186 since the pandemic began; 73 in Sioux County, 56 in O’Brien County, 41 in Lyon County and 16 in Osceola County.
While seeing a two-week period with no COVID-related deaths is encouraging, also encouraging is the fact that the total number of positive COVID test results in the past seven days is lower than the previous week. A total of 54 positive tests were reported in the past seven days, compared to sixty-two the previous week. That’s a decrease in positive test results of almost thirteen percent. 19 new positive test results were reported this week in Sioux County, with a 3% positivity rate; Lyon County reported 13 new positive tests, with a 7% positivity rate; Osceola County had 11 new positives, with a 6% rate; while O’Brien County also reports 11 new positives, but with a 4% positivity rate.
Earlier in the pandemic, a large number of nursing homes across the state reported outbreaks among their residents and staff. However, as of Monday, only one nursing home outbreak is reported by the Iowa Department of Public Health. That facility is located in Polk County, where the Urbandale Healthcare Center reports an outbreak involving 18 cases of COVID-19 among residents and staff of the facility.
