Over 100,000 Iowans have now been tested for COVID-19

By Kathie Obradovich, Iowa Capital Dispatch
Posted 5/18/20

The number of Iowans tested for COVID-19 has surpassed 100,000, with just over 3,900 test results reported on Sunday.

Gov. Kim Reynolds said last week that the validation of tests from the …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Over 100,000 Iowans have now been tested for COVID-19

Posted

The number of Iowans tested for COVID-19 has surpassed 100,000, with just over 3,900 test results reported on Sunday.

Gov. Kim Reynolds said last week that the validation of tests from the state’s Test Iowa program would lead to a ramp-up of testing. The state reported that one in 31 Iowans have now been tested, a figure Reynolds has said does not include those who have been tested more than once.

The state reported 288 new positive cases Sunday, for a total of 14,651 who have tested positive to date. The Iowa Department of Public Health also reported five more deaths, for a total of 351 Iowans who have died.

Hospitalizations were slightly lower, with 376 reported on Sunday, compared to 387 the previous day.

However, outbreaks in long-term care centers are still increasing. An additional 41 staff and residents were reported positive for COVID-19 compared to the previous day, for a total of 1,387 cases. There were a total of 37 outbreaks confirmed at long-term care centers, one more than the previous day.

Editor Kathie Obradovich has been covering Iowa government and politics for more than 30 years, most recently as political columnist and opinion editor for the Des Moines Register.