Comment on Iowa’s long-term care facilities see third day of no new COVID outbreaks

While one COVID-19-related death was reported Saturday for a long-term care facility, Iowa for the third consecutive day saw no new outbreaks at any of its 429 centers, according to Iowa Department of Public Health data.The decline was notable in that long-term care residents have accounted for more than 39 percent — 2,225 individuals — of all the 5,674 Iowans who have died from the virus over the past 12 months.“The past year, it’s almost been like they’ve been at war with COVID-19,” Lori Ristau, Iowa Health Care Association senior vice president of strategic communications, told The Gazette earlier this month.HospitalizationsHospitalization counts in Iowa continued to fluctuate slightly, but they proceeded along their overall downward trend statewide — since their peak in mid-November at 1,527 — with 172 patients reported for Saturday morning, according to the public health department and as analyzed by The Gazette.The state reported 38 patients in intensive care — down from six as of Friday morning.