As Webster County saw its second double-digit jump in COVID-19 cases this week, Wright County eclipsed 200 cases and Buena Vista County became the fourth county in Iowa to crest 1,000.

Webster County

Webster County Public Health confirmed 73 COVID-19 cases in the following age categories:

• Child (age 0-17): 7.

• Adult (age 18-40): 31.

• Middle age adult (age 41-60): 23.

• Older adult (age 61-80): 11.

• Elderly (81+): 1.

“This is a significant increase in cases this week, but remember that we are completing target testing,” said Kari Prescott, director of Webster County Public Health. “Testing is also taking place at a number of medical facilities including Unity Point Health – Fort Dodge, Community Health Center, and at MercyOne. We are doing more testing and, in turn, we may see more positives.”

Wright County

Cases in Wright County went to 221 Friday, up about 78% from just 10 days ago, when cases totaled 124. A breakdown of age categories was not immediately available. The county eclipsed 200 cases for the first time Friday.

Recovered cases stood at 40 Friday.

Wright, Buena Vista and Woodbury counties were identified Thursday as “areas of concern” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC list includes persistent hot spots in Midwestern and Southeastern states, many of which are home to meat packaging plants.

Buena Vista County

Buena Vista County became the fourth county in the state to surge past 1,000 cases, ending at 1,067 by press time Friday. It is the least populated of the four counties, the other three of which are home to larger urban centers: Woodbury County, Black Hawk County and Polk County.

The county added one additional death to its toll, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

A live map of hot spots monitored by the New York Times features Buena Vista County as having the eighth-highest number of cases per capita in the country.

Per capita, 1 in 19 people have been infected in the county, up from 1 in 25 on Tuesday when it had just 810 cases.

That rate is higher than all five boroughs of New York City, where the current rate is 1 in 40.

The Storm Lake Times reported Friday that Golina Shed, a COVID-19 patient from Storm Lake, died at UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center.

The death comes after a report from a Storm Lake doctor that many young patients in need of advanced care were being sent to Fort Dodge after Sioux City hospitals stopped accepting their transfers.