BREAKING NEWS: Iowa’s covid numbers for infection, deaths and hospitalizations remained in the danger zone again this week, with the omicron variant spreading to 10 Iowa counties, as shutdowns increase nationwide, including in neighboring Illinois. Omicron has now been identified in over three dozen patients in ten Iowa counties, including Black Hawk, Des Moines, Dubuque, Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Linn, Polk, Scott and Story counties. The more virulent variant is spiking along with new cases of previous variants, as Iowa Department of Public Health has reported 9,506 positive tests per... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: The omicron covid variant has begun ripping through Iowa, with the number of confirmed cases leaping across seven counties, as for the third week in a row covid numbers have soared across the state, prompting some to wonder if new restrictions including mask mandates and remote learning for schools may be on the way. Omicron has now infected people in Black Hawk, Jefferson, Johnson, Linn, Polk, Scott and Story counties, according to the latest numbers from the Iowa Department of Public Health. The total number of confirmed infections has gone from one to almost two dozen in a little... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Iowa covid-19 cases are skyrocketing, hitting their highest numbers in over a year, prompting some to call for a return to restrictions including a statewide mask mandate. According to the website coronavirus.iowa.gov, there were 9,362 new COVID-19 cases over the past week, an average of 1,337 new cases per day, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 528,221. Over the last 24 hours, there were 125 patients hospitalized in Iowa, for a statewide total of 721 (up from 623 last week), and 172 are in the ICU (up from 146 last week), and 67 are on ventilators (up from 57 last... Read More

Genesis Health System has released its latest numbers for covid-19 hospitalizations in the Quad-Cities. As of today, the hospitalization numbers are as follows: Genesis Medical Center, Davenport @ 36 Genesis Medical Center, Silvis @ 3 Genesis Medical Center, DeWitt @ 2 Jackson County Regional, Maquoketa @ 1 Total @ 42 COVID-19 Patients in ICU   Genesis Medical Center, Davenport @ 9 Genesis Medical Center, Silvis @ 2   Age Range of COVID-19 Hospitalized Patients   30-39 = 4  40-49 = 1 50-59 =  10 60-69 = 14 70-79 = 9 80+ = 4 Total = 42   7-day Symptomatic Positive Rate =... Read More

BREAKING: Iowa covid-19 numbers are heating up as the weather cools down, pushing Iowa into the red zone of “high” contagion and causing some to call for a statewide shutdown and new mask mandates. The 14-day positivity rate of COVID-19 for the state climbed from 8.9% to 9.2% in the last week, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Iowa has had 8,047 new positive cases in just the last week. Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 75.8% are unvaccinated, while 87.1% of those listed in intensive care with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Numbers from the Iowa Department of Public... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: New Iowa covid-19 numbers show a positive trend, but are still on “high alert,” with over 1,000 daily new cases for the eighth week in a row — a significant increase over summer’s 100 per day average. October numbers for Iowa are down 23 percent from September, with hospitalizations falling 10 percent over the past two weeks. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported Wednesday that 598 Iowans are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, with 150 patients in the UCU. Only 55 percent of all Iowans are vaccinated, which is driving the continued spread, as most... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Covid numbers in Scott County continue to spike rapidly. Last week, the Iowa county moved into the SUBSTANTIAL level, and this week they’ve moved to the highest placement, the HIGH level. According to the Scott County Health Department: Due to an increase in the past 7-day percent positive rate in Scott County, the CDC now reports Scott County to be in the HIGH level of transmission of the coronavirus.  The metrics the CDC uses to make this determination include a combination of total new cases per 100,000 persons in the past 7 days (Scott County = 104/100,000) and percentage... Read More

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker sounded a somber and sometimes irritated note during his daily press conference on covid-19 today, warning “we’re in for a very difficult few months” and saying we might very soon get to a point where he has “no other choice than to have a mandatory shutdown.” “What will it take to make this real for you?” Pritzker said. “Do we have to reach a positivity rate of 50 percent like we’re seeing in Iowa today? Are you waiting for your health care workers to get sick to a point where you don’t have enough staff in the local... Read More