COVID-19 deaths surpass 2,000 in Iowa Tuesday as hospitalizations continue to rise

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Department of Public Health reported a new record high 33 additional COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday.

As of 10:30 a.m., the state’s data shows a total of 2,024 COVID-19 related deaths since the pandemic began.

Additionally, 3,563 more COVID-19 cases were reported Tuesday. That brings the total number of cases to 190,583.

Hospitalizations also went up, as the state’s data now shows 1,510 patients hospitalized with the virus. 215 of those patients were admitted over the last 24 hours and 288 of them are in the ICU.

On Monday Governor Reynolds issued a new public health proclamation including new rules regarding when masks are required in public places. Click here for more information.

We are not reporting the number of tests conducted or the positivity rate because of recent revelations that the state doesn’t make all testing data available to the public, which can skew the positivity rate.

The public doesn’t have access to more complete data with the number of tests administered and the results of all those tests. That’s because right now, about 40 percent of people getting COVID-19 tests have been tested before, according to Paul Trombino, Gov. Kim Reynolds' chief operating officer and the interim director of the Department of Administrative Services.