Is Black Hawk County’s Coronavirus Case Curve Flattening?

Has Black Hawk County reached a plateau in the coronavirus pandemic?

Local health officials indicated the number of positive cases may be starting to trend downward, but they remained cautious in their assessment at Monday's virtual press briefing. The chief medical officers at Waterloo's two hospitals – Dr. Dan Glascock of UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital and Dr. Matthew Sojka of MercyOne – said there are indications that a potential flattening of incoming COVID-19 patients is occurring at both facilities.

Sojka and Glascock made their assessments on a day when Black Hawk County's cases went up to 1,546 and the number of deaths rose to 18, an increase of three since Sunday.

According to data posted on the Black Hawk County Health Department's website, there were seven new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Health officials reported 16 new positive tests each of the previous two days. They logged 101 new cases combined on Thursday and Friday.

Black Hawk County Public Health Director Dr. Nafissa Cisse-Egbuonye said Monday that 75 people are currently hospitalized with symptoms of the coronavirus.