(Radio Iowa) – The Covid patient count in Iowa hospitals continues to escalate. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, there were 823 patients with Covid in Iowa hospitals by the middle of this week, a six percent increase from last Wednesday. More than 100 of those patients are on ventilators and nearly 83 percent of Covid patients in intensive care units in Iowa have not been vaccinated against the virus.

The death toll from Covid in Iowa is approaching 77-hundred. IDPH reports 130 additional deaths, bringing the statewide total to 7,680 since the start of the pandemic. The additional deaths were reported between Oct. 6 and Dec. 9. The number of new positive tests in the last seven days is down from 9,736 on Monday to 9,012 on Wednesday. The state’s 14-day positivity rate decreased from 11.7% to 11.3%.

The number of long-term care facilities reporting outbreaks increased from 15 to 16. There have been 4,432,001 vaccine doses administered in Iowa, with 69.7% of those 18 and older fully vaccinated and 73.3% of those 12 and older with at least one dose