Webster County Public Health acknowledged 47 more COVID-19 cases in the county since Friday, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 1,056.

The increase comes two days after White House coronavirus experts warned state leaders that Iowa has sustained the steepest outbreak in the country over recent weeks, recommending stronger mitigation measures.

Currently, 64 cases remain open in Webster County and are being monitored. Of 1,056 total cases, 695 have been in the community at large, and 361 at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility. There are no open cases at the prison.

Cases fall into the following age categories:

• Children (age 0-17): 44.

• Adults (age 18-40): 516.

• Middle-aged adults (age 41-60): 320.

• Older adults (age 61-80): 150.

• Elderly adults (age 81+): 26.

“Webster County Public Health asks residents to wear a mask,” said public information office Kelli Bloomquist, “especially if social distancing isn’t possible and they aren’t sure of the exposure risk of those that they are around.”

President Donald Trump’s White House coronavirus task force urged Iowa to require mask-wearing statewide on Aug. 23, a recommendation Gov. Kim Reynolds has repeatedly rejected as unenforceable.

Webster County is now one of 14 counties in the state with a total number of cases surpassing 1,000. Webster County ranks 18th in Iowa by population.

Though the county’s first positive case came in March, the vast majority of cases have poured into the county over the last two months. On July 1, the county had a total of 191 cases. By Aug. 1, the county’s total ballooned to 701.