Black Hawk, Tama Counties Add 15 New Cases; Iowa Now Has 1,710
Black Hawk County recorded 15 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the largest total since testing began about a month ago.
During a morning news conference, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced 113 new cases in Iowa, increasing the statewide total to 1,710. Of the positive cases, 62 are in Black Hawk County.
Tama County also reported 15 new cases on Monday, raising the total there to over 100. Over the weekend, National Beef announced that several employees at its Iowa Premium processing plant in Tama had contracted COVID-19. Because of the outbreak, the company said it was halting production at the plant until April 20.
On Monday, the Governor also announced two additional deaths. Reynolds said one was an elderly Linn County adult over the age of 81 and the other was a Muscatine County adult, who was between the ages of 61 and 80.
According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, 43 Iowans have died from the virus. Reynolds said 53-percent of the COVID-19 deaths and 10-percent of the positive cases have occurred at long-term care facilities.
Six counties hard-hit by the virus account for nearly 58-percent of all positive cases in Iowa. Linn has the highest number of cases with 258, Johnson has 210, Polk has 195, Scott has 118, Muscatine has 102, and Tama has 101.
As of Sunday night, 142 people were hospitalized with symptoms related to COVID-19.
The virus is now present in all but 17 of Iowa's 99 counties.