The report was released on Sunday and was obtained by ABC News. It places Iowa seventh in the nation for new coronavirus cases last week. The state had nearly double the rate of new cases as compared to the national average.
Polk, Woodbury and Dubuque counties had the highest number of new cases in the past three weeks. They made up 24 percent of all new cases.
The report says community spread continues in both the state’s rural and urban areas, with 82 percent of Iowa’s counties having moderate to high levels of community transmission, and it continues to see severe outbreaks among nursing home residents and staff.
Because of this, the report says it’s critical to increase mitigation efforts such as mask wearing, physical distancing and avoiding crowds to stop the increasing spread.
