On Sunday, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 730 new cases of COVID-19, a sharp decrease of 603 in the last twenty-four hours, pushing the pandemic total to well over 304,000. However, Test Iowa sites were closed on Friday because of the blizzard, so overall numbers may rise quickly this week. Sixty-four deaths were attributed to coronavirus on Saturday, including six in Polk County, two apiece in Dallas and Webster Counties, along with one each in Hamilton, Story, and Boone Counties. The two additional deaths on Sunday – with another in Polk County – means 4,323 Iowans have succumbed to COVID-19. Since 4:00 on Friday afternoon in central Iowa, 306 new cases of coronavirus have been identified in Polk County; 54 in Dallas; 44 in Story; 25 in Webster; nine in Hamilton; four in Greene; and 18 this weekend in Boone County for 2,164 all told. For the first time since October 18th less than 500 Iowans are hospitalized with COVID-19 and almost 266,000 have recovered, including 1,751 in Boone County, where the fourteen-day positivity rate has dropped four points this past week to 12%.
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