CORONAVIRUS-RELATED DEATHS. MORE THAN 5,000 HAPPENED IN IOWA. IOWA’S LONG-TERM CARE CENTERS WERE HIT HARD WHEN COVID-19 ENTERED IOWA LAST YEAR. WHILE THE NUMBER OF CASES AND DEATHS ARE DECLINING, THE LOSS STILL ECHOES. KCCI’S TOMMIE CLARK IS LIVE AT ARBOR SPRINGS IN WEST DES MOINES. TOMMIE, YOU SPOKE WITH STAFF WHO EXPERIENCED THE TRAGEDIES OF 2020 FIRSTHAND. TOMMIE: THEY DID. THE ALZHEIMER’S AND DEMENTIA CARE FACILITY HERE REALLY WENT TO THE THICK OF IT ONE YEAR AGO, LIKE SO MANY NURSING HOMES. THEY SAY NOW, THEY ARE DOING MUCH BETTER. THEY SAY EVERYONE IS VACCINATED AND THEY CAN FEEL THE HOPE UNDER THEIR ROOF. BUT OF COURSE, THEY ARE STILL COPING WITH THE EXTREME LOSS. OUTBREAKS INSIDE NURSING HOMES KILLED THOUSANDS OF RESIDENTS AND MAKE UP FOR NEARLY HALF OF ALL OF COVID-19 DEATHS IN THE STATE OF IOWA. FOR ONE YEAR NOW, KCCI HAS BEEN COVERING THE CHANGES HAPPENING INSIDE NURSING HOMES DUE TO COVID, FROM THE DEATHLY OUTBREAKS TO ARBOR SPRINGS BEING ONE OF THE FIRST FACILITIES IN IOWA TO START VACCINATIONS TO RECOVERY. THE OVERNIGHT NURSE DURING COVID TELLS ME, AT ONE POINT, THEY WERE LOSING RESIDENTS NEARLY EVERY NIGHT, AND IT WAS HEARTBREAKING. SHE SAT BY RESIDENTS’ SIDES AS THEY TOOK THEIR LAST BREATH, WITHOUT FAMILY ABLE TO BE NEARBY LAURENA GBARBEA: MY RESIDENTS NOT HAVING THEIR LOVED ONES, I THINK THAT WAS THE HARDEST PART. BECAUSE WHEN I GOT SICK, THAT’ WHAT HELPED ME. SEJLA COSIC: EVERYBODY JUST CAME TOGETHER AND WORE 10 DIFFERENT HATS EVERY SINGLE DAY JUST
Nearly 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Iowa
Nearly one million COVID-19 vaccine doses have now been administered in Iowa and more than 347,000 individuals are fully vaccinated against the virus.The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 559 new positive virus tests and 11 additional deaths Friday. At 10 a.m., the health department reported 369,643 total positive tests, 323,633 total recoveries and 5,631 total deaths since the pandemic began. Twenty-four hours earlier, the health department reported 369,084 total positive tests and 5,620 total deaths.Iowa reports 998,054 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, with 347,382 individuals completing the vaccine series. Find out how you can get vaccinated in Iowa here. The state’s positivity rates are below 4%. Iowa reports a 3.9% 14-day average and a 3.8% 7-day average. There have been 4,218,175 COVID-19 tests administered in Iowa.Virus hospitalizations have remained flat this week. There are now 168 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 166 a day earlier. There are 36 patients in ICU and 13 patients on ventilators.The number of long-term care facilities reporting virus outbreaks in Iowa is down to three. The state reports 56 positive cases and 38 recoveries among residents and staff within those facilities. Iowa reports 0 positive cases in the last 14 days. Facilities must be free of cases for 28 days before being considered virus-free. There have been 2,213 deaths reported in Iowa’s long-term care facilities. The Iowa Department of Public Health provides virus data in real time on this website. KCCI publishes a daily summary of the data at 10 a.m.
Nearly one million COVID-19 vaccine doses have now been administered in Iowa and more than 347,000 individuals are fully vaccinated against the virus.
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 559 new positive virus tests and 11 additional deaths Friday. At 10 a.m., the health department reported 369,643 total positive tests, 323,633 total recoveries and 5,631 total deaths since the pandemic began. Twenty-four hours earlier, the health department reported 369,084 total positive tests and 5,620 total deaths.
Iowa reports 998,054 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, with 347,382 individuals completing the vaccine series. Find out how you can get vaccinated in Iowa here.
The state’s positivity rates are below 4%. Iowa reports a 3.9% 14-day average and a 3.8% 7-day average. There have been 4,218,175 COVID-19 tests administered in Iowa.
Virus hospitalizations have remained flat this week. There are now 168 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 166 a day earlier. There are 36 patients in ICU and 13 patients on ventilators.
The number of long-term care facilities reporting virus outbreaks in Iowa is down to three. The state reports 56 positive cases and 38 recoveries among residents and staff within those facilities. Iowa reports 0 positive cases in the last 14 days. Facilities must be free of cases for 28 days before being considered virus-free. There have been 2,213 deaths reported in Iowa’s long-term care facilities.
The Iowa Department of Public Health provides virus data in real time on this website. KCCI publishes a daily summary of the data at 10 a.m.