Iowa about halfway through Covid Delta Variant surge

Document: Getty Images

(Des Moines, IA) -- The State of Iowa is in the middle of the Covid Delta Variant surge.

"We've been trending up about four straight weeks." Says Doctor Meghan Schaeffer, a Polk County Epidemiologist and former Iowa State Epidemiologist.

"When you look at what's happened in other states, that surge can last approximately eight weeks, so we will likely have another four weeks at a minimum experiencing this surge." She says.

Iowa's Covid positivity rate is up 126-percent over the past two weeks.

Schaeffer says there will likely be hundreds of people positive for Covid-19 at the Iowa State Fair every day.

"Per every 100,000 people, for Iowa right now that number is about 600." She says. That means with Fair attendance of 100,000 people each day, there will likely be 600 people positive for Covid.

Some estimates by the Centers for Disease control show nationwide that number could be as high as 1000 cases per hundred-thousand. But, Schaeffer says Iowans are better about getting tested and quarantining, so the number is lower here.

Schaeffer says each person with Covid at the Fair could spread it to an average of two to four other people.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content