Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said the number of Iowans hospitalized with COVID-19 has reached an all-time high, 444 as of Tuesday, October 6.
Reynolds said in the previous two weeks 72% of the people hospitalized were over 60 years old. She said 68% had pre-existing conditions.
"This is disappointing news and sadly is what can happen when we are experiencing community spread," she said.
In the previous 24 hours the state had 919 new confirmed positive cases and 15 additional deaths.
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Despite the increases, Reynolds says hospital officials had reported that they were equipped to handle the surge. She emphasized that everyone needed to take personal responsibility, including wearing masks when possible, washing their hands and observing social distancing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report