Photo from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A 10th Marion County death related to COVID-19 was reported to the State of Iowa database this week.

No additional details about the individual have been released by Marion County Public Health. The joint task force locally is now releasing weekly updates for case counts and death statistics. Marion County Public Health Director Kim Dorn says reports are now weekly due to increased workload as staff prepares for the upcoming flu season and takes on duties and projects that were otherwise stopped or slowed by COVID-19, as those efforts return to more normal function.

As hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients surge in the state of Iowa, with record highs reported nearly every day for the past two weeks, locally, there is one person who is currently in a hospital due to the virus. As of Thursday evening, there were 895 cases of COVID-19 in Marion County since the beginning of the outbreak, with 813 considered recovered by the Iowa Department of Public Health.