Linn County COVID-19 Cases Reach New High

Linn County has reached a new milestone in the fight against coronavirus, although admittedly, it's a number they wish they didn't hit. The Gazette reports that in a 24 hour period ending at 11 a.m. Saturday, Linn County reported 45 new cases of coronavirus. That marked the third straight day of 40 plus new cases. It also brought the new seven-day rolling average up to 35, the highest since the pandemic began.

The rolling day average is the average number of new coronavirus cases reported over a period of seven days. Linn County's numbers were confirmed by the Iowa Department of Public Health. The Gazette reports that the state of Iowa also confirmed 6 more deaths, bringing the total up to 826.

The news hasn't been all bad, however. The Gazette reports that Johnson County, which saw a huge surge in cases during the month of June, saw new cases steadily decline in July. Their seven-day rolling average peaked at 49 back on June 30th. This weekend, the Johnson County number stood at 18 new cases. Statewide, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 628 new cases on Saturday, bringing Iowa's total up to 41,628. The state has a positivity rate of 10.49 percent.

On Friday, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds extending the social distancing requirements for restaurants and bars in the state. Those will stay in effect until August 23rd. The Gazette reports that the state of Iowa also hit two new milestones over the weekend. The state topped 40,000 cases since March on Thursday and then crossed the 41,000 case mark on Friday. The state's rolling average is 536 new cases.