Second COVID-19 death reported in Floyd County as cases show a spike

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The second COVID-19 death has been confirmed in Floyd County, the Floyd County Department of Public Health announced Friday.

The deceased person was an elderly adult, age 81 or older, the department said, using the age ranges that Iowa uses to identify COVID-19 victims.

“We wish to extend our sympathy to this individual’s family,” said Floyd County Public Health Director Gail Arjes. “Floyd County Public Health and all of our key partners throughout the county and state continue to work to limit the spread and impact of this virus in our communities.”

After almost a month of relatively few new cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the number of positive test results reported by the Iowa COVID-19 reporting website shows a spike in the cases in the last week and a half.

From May 22 to June 18 there were 13 new cases reported, an average of fewer than ½ case per day.

In the 11 days from June 19 to Monday, June 29, there have been 32 new cases, an average of almost 3 per day, with the highest numbers reported on June 23 with eight and June 26 with five.

The state keeps a 14-day rolling average of positive active cases for each county. That number was at 32 on Monday, June 28, twice as high as the 14-day rolling average of 16 on May 24, the previous highest total.

In Floyd County, 62% of positive cases have been in people age 18 to 60, with 30% between the 18 to 40 age group and 32% in the 41 to 60 age group. There have been 23% of the positive cases in the age 61-80 group, 14% in the 81 and older group and 2% in age 0-17, according to state statistics.

A total of 1,723 COVID-19 tests had been performed in Floyd County as of Monday. That represents about 1 in every 10 county residents, a testing rate higher than the state average, which is 1 in 12 residents.

The Iowa Department of Health says 3.8% of those tested in Floyd County have come back positive, which is well below the state average of a 9.6% positive rate.

The state figures show the following number of cases as of Monday, June 29, for Floyd County and the surrounding counties:

• Floyd – 66
• Bremer – 87
• Butler – 45
• Cerro Gordo – 99
• Chickasaw – 25
• Franklin – 74
• Howard – 21
• Mitchell – 21
• Worth – 13

“As we see the positive cases of COVID-19 rise in Floyd County and the surrounding area,” Floyd County Public Health offered these reminders:

• Practice social distancing as much as possible.
• Stay home when even mildly ill (the kind of illness that normally wouldn’t prevent you from your everyday activities).
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow/upper arm.
• Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.”

For up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit the IDPH webpage at https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus and follow the department on Facebook at @IowaDepartmentOfPublicHealth and on Twitter at @IAPublicHealth.