Photo from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Cases of COVID-19 continue to climb statewide and in Marion County.

There have been 163 new cases reported since Sunday, according to the State of Iowa Coronavirus database, with 1,763 total since the beginning of the outbreak. As of Monday, Marion County Public Health considered 1,415 recovered. There are 17 deaths due to the virus in Marion County, and there are now a record 22 residents hospitalized with COVID-19.

While student absences remain generally low in the Pella Community School District, several staff members are out of class with COVID-19. As of Wednesday, 6.9% of staff were absent in Pella Middle School, 6% in Lincoln Elementary, 4.4% at Jefferson Intermediate, and 3.8% at Pella High School, for a district wide average of 4.2%. There are nine confirmed positive tests among students, and after 76 total student absences on Tuesday, that number dropped to 53 on Wednesday.

Central College announced this week that effective November 30th, students have the opportunity to finish the semester on campus or remotely. As of the most recent weekly report, 22 new positive cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on campus from November 9th through 15th, and 97 individuals were quarantined or separated on campus.

In the PCM School District, as of Wednesday, there were 60 students and staff missing class due to a COVID-19 related reason, 4.9% percent of the total district population.