COVID-19 death toll rises in O’Brien Co.

The number of people who’ve died from COVID-19 in O’Brien County increased from nine to 11 over the past week.

The death toll in Clay County remained unchanged at four. O’Brien County’s COVID-19 14-day positivity rate decreased from 16.5 to 16 percent over the past week, while Clay County’s dipped from 13.1 to 9.6 percent. Those figures ranked Nos. 12 and 52, respectively, among all 99 counties in Iowa.

Overall, O’Brien County has had 580 total confirmed coronavirus cases since March and 326 recoveries, while Clay County has had 486 cases and 302 recoveries.

The COVID-19 outbreak at Prairie View Campus in Sanborn had positive gains during the past week. According to state data, the facility’s confirmed case count was unchanged at 29 but recoveries increased from 19 to 23.

Statewide, there have been 108,422 positive cases, 83,516 recoveries and 1,555 deaths. Iowa’s positivity rate was 9.5 percent as of Tuesday night, an increase of 0.1 percent from last week.

As of Monday afternoon, local coronavirus-related hospitalizations included: Clay County, 2; O’Brien County, 4; and Osceola County, 4.

Burn ban lifted in O’Brien County

The O’Brien County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to lift a burn ban that affected unincorporated areas in the county. It had been in place since Oct. 6 due to dry and hazardous conditions.

The request to lift the burn ban was sent to the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office for review and was approved.