Iowa seeing ‘somewhat of a surge’ in COVID-19

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – COVID-19 instances are trending again up in Iowa, in line with a well being chief in Dubuque.

The graph under reveals statewide constructive COVID-19 exams and is taken from the Iowa Division of Public Well being. The bump on the far proper representing current weeks is smaller than the excessive factors of Winter 2020 and January 2022. Nonetheless, in line with Mary Rose Corrigan, Public Well being Specialist for the town of Dubuque, “the incline of the curve is getting steeper on a regular basis.” Corrigan added, “The pandemic is unquestionably not over. In reality, we’ve seen growing instances for the reason that first a part of April right here in Dubuque County and customarily in Iowa.”

Corrigan additionally stated that’s arduous to match this most up-to-date surge to these up to now when information was extra complete. “The factor to recollect concerning the reported instances is that they’re solely a fraction of the instances actually occurring on the market as a result of many individuals are doing fast in-home testing, and people usually are not reportable…It’s arduous to match with earlier surges when all instances had been reported.”

Jane Harney lives in Cedar Rapids and is a type of Iowans who just lately acquired COVID-19. Her case wouldn’t be represented within the state information, although, as a result of she did use an at-home check. She had a sore throat Sunday and took a check Tuesday, which got here again detrimental. She examined once more Thursday and was constructive.

Harney stated she was “grateful” she acquired COVID two years into the pandemic, versus earlier, like her daughter. “My oldest daughter who’s a scholar at Iowa, acquired it the primary summer season within the pandemic as a result of she acquired it June of 2020. We type of name that old style COVID you understand—no vaccines, no therapeutics. It was simply, type of, properly, in case you begin to get in need of breath, go to the ER.”

She stated her case two years later was “far totally different.” “I knew I used to be vaccinated and boosted and so many individuals I’d recognized had already had it and gotten alongside okay.”

Adam Orton additionally lives in Cedar Rapids. He’s immunocompromised. He just lately contracted COVID-19 for the second time. He stated he and his household went to Kansas Metropolis over Memorial Day weekend and afterward he and his sons had been sick. “Ultimately it acquired to the purpose on Sunday the place I needed to go to the emergency room as a result of my oxygen saturation stage was all the way down to 90 and I assumed, ‘Okay, I’m having bother respiration and my legs are feeling numb’ and so it was somewhat terrifying.”

“You recognize, at that time, I didn’t know what to anticipate,” stated Orton. “As a result of having it the second time, you’ll have figured it wouldn’t have been as worse as the primary time. And the primary time wasn’t that dangerous.”

Corrigan stated COVID-19 was not seasonal and, even two years into the pandemic, unpredictable. “I don’t consider we’ve sufficient data to foretell the long run…You recognize we’ve had waves which have come periodically. These could possibly be predicted, nevertheless it’s not one thing I’m keen to do.”

“The thriller of COVID-19 and the virus is that we don’t, we are able to’t predict the way it will have an effect on particular person individuals,” stated Corrigan.

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