By Beacon Staff
The Iowa Governor’s office reported Des Moines County’s first COVID-19 death on Sunday.
The person was between 61 and 80-years-old. Additional details about the patient, including when the person succumbed to the virus, were not released Sunday afternoon.
Des Moines County currently has 16 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, and five of them have recovered. So far, 233 people living in Des Moines County have been tested for coronavirus.
The number of local COVID-19 cases currently sits at five in Lee County, eight in Van Buren County, 266 in Louisa County (including two deaths), and 31 in Henry in County (including one death).
Iowa reported its highest single-day total of COVID-19 cases Saturday as the state increases testing and targets workers at meatpacking plants and nursing homes that have been hit hard by the new coronavirus. Shearer’s Foods in West Burlington and Doran & Ward Packaging in Burlington have each reported one confirmed case of coronavirus so far.
There were 648 positive tests in a 24-hour reporting period that ended at 10 a.m. Saturday, the Iowa Department of Public Health said in a statement/ That news came one day after 521 new cases were reported and pushed the total in Iowa to over 5,000.
As of 11 a.m. Sunday, April 26, Iowa had recorded 5,476 cases of COVID-19, including 118 deaths. Exactly 286 people have been hospitalized from the virus, and 1,900 have recovered so far. A total of 36,090 Iowans have been tested.