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Tuesday's COVID-19 reports include the biggest surge of positive cases in Iowa yet with 189 testing positive for the virus.
Dozens more employees at a large pork plant tested positive and the number of outbreaks at long-term care facilities doubled.
The total number of patients hospitalized with the virus in Iowa increased by 14% from a day earlier, to 163. Deaths grew by six to 49.
Tuesday's numbers show that 670 tests were conducted.
Sarah Reisetter with the Iowa Department of Public Health said the number is low because tests that are being recorded on a certain day reflect testing done between 10 a.m. to 10 a.m. two days prior to them being announced.
In short, the tests that were completed between 10 a.m. on Sunday to 10 a.m. on Monday were the numbers announced on Tuesday.
Reisetter said these numbers are consistent with the pattern that the IDPH has seen, but the lower numbers could also be blamed on Sunday being Easter.
Gov. Kim Reynolds said 86 of the new cases—nearly half—are related to an outbreak at the Tyson Foods plant in Louisa County.
Louisa County's total number of cases increased by 6,900% over the last few days.
RELATED: What is going on in Louisa County?
The rural county has a population around 11,000 and is considered rural, and as of Monday evening, the total number of cases rose to 152 "due to increased testing efforts," according to county public health officials.
Reynolds said that Louisa County's situation is the reason why Regional Medical Coordination Centers, or RMCCs, are critical during this pandemic.
"That's the whole purpose of the RMCCs ... to understand how we can coordinate, facilitate, take care of Iowans, make sure that we have the proper equipment and that we're not overwhelming a particular hospital," she explanied.
Reynolds also announced three additional long-term care facilities that are now centers of outbreaks:
- Bartel's Lutheran Retirement Home in Bremer County
- Trinity Center at Luther Park in Polk County
- On With Life Residential Facility in Polk County
Reynolds said that these facilities are working with local and state public health officials to isolate the sick and keep residents healthy during this time.
Reynolds announced new website data to supplement Iowan's knowledge of COVID-19 numbers in the state, which can be found at coronavirus.iowa.gov.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends frequent hand washing, avoiding close contact and staying home if you are sick as main areas of focus for prevention and containment of COVID-19.