Iowa sets daily record with 2,617 new COVID-19 cases

The state on Friday reported 2,617 Iowans tested positive for COVID-19, a record for a 24-hour period.

The total, as of 11 a.m. Friday, surpassed the previous record of 2,579 recorded Aug. 27, when Iowa added previously unreported antigen tests, causing a temporary spike.

Friday’s new cases were identified in 7,166 tests, for a positivity rate of 36.52 percent.

To date, 124,611 coronavirus cases have been reported in Iowa since March.

The number of hospitalizations on Friday increased by one, to 606, a record for the fifth day.

Patients being treated in intensive care units increased from Thursday’s 135 to 152. Fifty-five patients are on ventilators, down one from Thursday’s total.

Linn County record

Linn County also set another daily record for new cases — for the fourth day in a row — with 219 confirmed COVID-19 cases and a positivity rate of 37.31 percent, according to Iowa Department of Public Health statistics.

Forty people were hospitalized from the virus Friday, up from 30 on Tuesday.