Iowa COVID surge sends hospitalizations to highest in a year

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hospitalizations reported by the Iowa Department of Public Health increased Wednesday as the state continues to experience a surge in coronavirus cases leading to more people being treated in hospitals, higher numbers in intensive care and more deaths. Hospitalizations increased 7.5% from the Monday update to 777 patients with 185 people requiring ICU care, up 14%. The number of hospitalized patients is the highest since Dec. 14, 2020, and the ICU census is the highest in a year. Seven unvaccinated children age 11 or younger are hospitalized and the state reports 6% of children age 5 to 11 in Iowa are fully vaccinated. The state also reported an additional 105 COVID-19 deaths, which raises the state total to 7,550 deaths.