Almost 50% of new COVID-19 cases in the last week in north-central Iowa those under 17, age 18-29

DES MOINES — State officials say almost 50% of the confirmed coronavirus cases in north-central Iowa in the last seven days were among children and people in their 20s.

The state is currently updating its data once a week, and on Wednesday, it reported an additional 8,907 new positive cases and 29 additional deaths to bring the state’s total to 6,307. Here in north-central Iowa, in Cerro Gordo and the eight surrounding counties, 398 new cases were reported with no new deaths. Cerro Gordo County saw 102 new cases in the last week.

The seven-day rolling average of cases has been gradually increasing locally and statewide since early June. In north-central Iowa, the seven-day average is 7.1% while the 14-day average is at 7.2%. The statewide 7-day and 14-day averages are at 8.6%.

The data shows 22% of the positive tests in the last week in the state were among children 17 and younger and 20% of positive were among those in their late teens and 20s. Here locally, 29% of those new cases were 17 and younger while 19% were between age 18 and 29.