Northwest Iowa — The Iowa Department of Public Health has been reporting a sizable number of cases up or down in apparent corrections for Lyon County, and today for Cherokee County.
The confusion started about a week ago when Lyon County had fifteen fewer cases than the previous day. A couple of days later, Lyon County had an inordinately higher daily rise than the other counties in the area. Then this weekend, Lyon County again reported 15 fewer cases than the previous day. Now on Monday, the state says Lyon County has 46 more cases than the previous day, while other area counties’ gains were in the single digits. We talked to Lyon County Health Nurse Melissa Stillson, and she tells us that when someone tests positive or negative for COVID, those numbers are reported directly to the Iowa Department of Public Health. She says the county health department has no role in reporting COVID statistics. She says they too wonder what the situation is at the state level. Also today, just outside our area — The state health department reports that there are 39 fewer COVID cases in Cherokee County than the previous day.
The other three counties in our area appear to have normal results. There were three new cases in O’Brien County on Monday and one more in Sioux County. About one in eight northwest Iowans have tested positive for COVID since March 2020.
The death toll for the area remains at 151 since the pandemic began. The death totals are 54 in O’Brien County, 56 in Sioux County, 32 in Lyon County, and nine in Osceola County.
Out of the 1,383 Lyon County residents who have had COVID-19, 1180 of them have recovered, for a recovery rate of about 85%.
Out of the 4,538 Sioux County residents who have had COVID-19, 4162 of them have recovered, for a recovery rate of about 92%.
Out of the 1,689 O’Brien County residents who have had COVID-19, 1506 of them have recovered, for a recovery rate of about 89%.
Out of the 634 Osceola County residents who have had COVID-19, 597 of them have recovered, for a recovery rate of about 94%.
Osceola County currently has 28 active cases. There were 129 in O’Brien County. Sioux County has 320 active cases, which is down about twenty from last week. Lyon County has 171 active cases.
Total numbers of cases from other counties around the area and their change from the previous report:
Iowa counties:
Plymouth 3,489 , up 1
Cherokee 1,342 , down 39
Buena Vista 3,920 , up 2
Clay 1,662 , up 2
Dickinson 1,846 , up 4
