Via iowa.maps.arcgis.com
Iowa is number one in the nation for states where coronavirus is spreading fastest.
That spot was secured according to MSN and 24/7 Wall Street, a financial news and commentary website. It compared the number of confirmed cases and deaths from April 16 to April 23, showing a 75.1 percent one-week increase for Iowa, the highest in the country.
In just the two days since that time period, Iowa has had two days in a row of the highest-yet new confirmed case totals, so the rate is even higher now than what the group found.
Today, Iowa’s statewide totals were 5,092 cases and 112 deaths. A week ago, it was 2,513 cases and 74 deaths. In that period of time, the number of cases increased by 2,579, or 102.6 percent.
North Dakota and Nebraska are second and third in the overall ranking.
[inline-ad id=”1″]
According to data compiled by the New York Times, as of Saturday evening, three Iowa metros — Sioux City, Waterloo-Cedar Falls and Des Moines — are in the top 15 metro areas with the highest average daily growth rate of cases. Sioux City is first, Waterloo-Cedar Falls is fourth and Des Moines is eleventh. [Update: on Sunday, those three metros were all in the top 6].
No other state has more than two cities in the top 15.
In that seven-day period from April 18 to today, outbreaks at long-term care facilities, manufacturing centers and meatpacking plants in the state — or just over the border — have driven the number of cases up across Iowa.
[inline-ad id=”0″]
Black Hawk County now has the highest number of cases in the state with nearly 800. There, a Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Waterloo was the biggest source of the outbreak. The plant finally shut down after local leaders put pressure on the company.
A Nebraska meatpacking plant is the most likely source of the explosion in cases seen in Woodbury County, on the other side of the state. There, 396 cases have been reported after having only 35 last Saturday.
[inline-ad id=”2″]
Iowa’s first confirmed case was on March 8. Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered the closure of schools and non-essential businesses in mid-March. She’s never issued a stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order for the state, and said Friday she would announce how she plans to reopen Iowa’s economy — starting with elective surgeries and farmers’ markets — on Monday.
by Nikoel Hytrek
Posted 4/25/20
Iowa Starting Line is an independently-owned progressive news outlet devoted to providing unique, insightful coverage on Iowa news and politics. We need reader support to continue operating — please donate here. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more coverage.
[inline-ad id=”3″]
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Iowans and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at Iowa Starting Line has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Iowan families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.
Iowa Republicans make outlawing gay marriage key 2024 campaign priority
Iowa Republicans have made outlawing gay marriage a key goal in their 2024 party platform. During the Iowa GOP’s 2024 state convention on Saturday,...
Department of Justice says Iowa immigration law violates US Constitution
If Iowa doesn’t suspend the enforcement of its new immigration law by May 7, the state could face a federal lawsuit, according to the Des Moines...
Rushing: Iowa State president said the quiet part out loud
I want to thank Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen for doing us all a favor by finally saying the quiet part out loud: all the...
Iowa sets aside almost $180 million for year two of voucher program
Iowa has committed nearly $180 million in taxpayer funds to support private school tuition in the 2024-25 school year, which is almost $50 million...
Kalbach: Immediate action needed on corporate ag pollution
Iowa agriculture has undergone substantial changes over the past 40 years. We see it all around us. Rather than crops and livestock being raised on...
VIDEO: Jochum calls Gov. Reynolds’ summer meal program a ‘hunger game’
Iowa Gov. Reynolds announced a competitive $900,000 grant program to feed Iowa children over the summer, months after she declined $29 million in...
