COVID-19 cases increasing in Floyd County, following the state trend

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The number of COVID-19 cases in Floyd County is trending up in the past week.

The county spent most of the summer with the positivity rate — the percentage of COVID-19 tests that turn out positive — hovering scarcely above 0% for both the 14-day and the 7-day rolling average.

But now, according to latest figures available from the state, the Floyd County rate is 4.8% for the 14-day rate and 9.6% for the 7-day positivity rate. There have been 11 new cases identified in the county in the last seven days, the first time more than three or four new cases a week have occurred since May.

It’s part of a trend that is being seen across Iowa, as now 90 out of the state’s 99 counties — including Floyd and Chickasaw — are within the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) level that recommends wearing masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.

Both counties moved from the “moderate” community transmission level category last week to “substantial,” the second-highest level. Most of the state’s counties are at the top level, in the “high” community transmission category.

The state COVID-19 data site does not track the variant of the COVID-19 virus responsible for positive tests, but the CDC says the vast majority of new COVID-19 cases are the Delta variant.

Delta is more contagious and may cause more severe disease than all the other variations of the virus, the CDC says.

The Iowa COVID-19 data website shows that as of Tuesday — the latest available data since the state started updating its information only once a week — there have been 6,753 county residents who have been completely vaccinated for COVID-19. An additional 421 people have received the first dose of a two-dose sequence.

The number who have completed their vaccination represents 50.7% of the people eligible to receive the vaccine, but that is persons age 12 and over only.

Based on the entire county population, only 43.2% have been vaccinated.

Floyd County Public Health has been posting information on its Facebook page repeating the advice of the CDC.

“In areas of substantial or high transmission, everyone should wear a mask in public indoors settings to help prevent the spread of Delta variant and protect others,” it says. Floyd County is an area of substantial transmission, according to the CDC.