State reports net result of no new cases of COVID-19 in Allamakee County in past week for first time in over nine months

For the first time in more than nine months, the number of confirmed new cases of COVID-19 reported by the State of Iowa for a week’s timeframe in Allamakee County calculated out to zero, according to statistics updated daily at www.coronavirus.iowa.gov.

The past week’s timeframe of Monday, March 29 through Monday, April 5 saw the same number of confirmed positive total cases in Allamakee reported on each of those Mondays - 1,537 total cases since the COVID-19 pandemic began just over a year ago. That’s the first time the same number of total cases has been reported by the State of Iowa on consecutive Mondays since mid-June of last year, when the Allamakee County positive case total stood at just 121 confirmed cases both Monday, June 15 and Monday, June 22.

Although that total case number remained at 1,537 for both Monday, March 29 and Monday, April 5, that’s not to say there wasn’t some fluctuation in between those two dates, according to State of Iowa reports. After two new cases were reported Monday, March 29 to bring that Allamakee County total to 1,537 cases, this past week did have two additional days in which new confirmed cases were initially reported for Allamakee County, including two cases Wednesday, March 31 and three Sunday, April 4.

However, this past week also featured three different days in which the State of Iowa adjusted its reported case totals for Allamakee County backwards, including two cases removed from the Allamakee County total Tuesday, March 30, one case removed Friday, April 2 and two more removed Monday, April 5 - all calculating out to a net result of that same 1,537 confirmed case total as of April 5.

Although unable to offer specific details, State of Iowa health officials have explained that adjustments made occasionally to a county’s total case count could stem from a number of reasons, but most often is a result of a new confirmed case being initially attributed to the incorrect county of residence. That errant attribution could be a matter of an individual being tested in a neighboring county and having results reported as the county of testing rather than their actual county of residence, or a visiting individual being errantly caught in the same scenario.

Regardless of the situation, or of a weekly net zero new case result, health officials urge local residents to continue to remain diligent in their precautionary and mitigation strategies that have been in place throughout the pandemic.