A child under the age of five died from complications from COVID-19 in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Public Health confirmed the child died in June and the case investigation was completed by the State Medical Examiner earlier this month. The child had underlying health conditions. As of Monday, Iowa has had 56,585 confirmed cases of the virus, 1,040 deaths, and 43,650 people have recovered for a recovery rate of 77%.

The Iowa Department of Public Health is encouraging people to continue measures to prevent the spread of the virus like washing hands frequently with soap and water, covering coughs, practicing social distancing with people outside of your household, and wearing masks in public. Washington County Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski explains masks help with source control, “You are contagious and shed virus for 48 hours prior to becoming symptomatic. So, the purpose of wearing a mask that covers your nose and mouth is to prevent the droplets that carry the virus that you generate when you talk, when you laugh, when you sing, when you breath, from being dispersed to somebody else near you. So, the purpose of wearing that mask is to prevent the spread of illness from the source.”

As of Monday, Washington County had 316 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 11 deaths, and 288 people recovered. The 14-day positivity rate in Washington County was 3.6%. Surrounding counties’ 14-day positivity rates Monday were 15.5% in Henry County, 9.9% in Johnson, 6.4% in Jefferson, 5.0% in Keokuk, 2.8% in Iowa, and 1.9% in Louisa County.