DES MOINES, Iowa — UnityPoint Health's Des Moines campuses do not currently have any COVID-19 patients for the first time in more than three years, the company said Wednesday.
Blank Children's Hospital and Iowa Methodist Medical Center are two of UnityPoint Health's locations in Des Moines.
"It's a wonderful relief. And we understand that COVID has not gone but everybody has worked together to take care of the patients," said Nancy Wild, manager of infection prevention. "And it's nice to know that we're starting to see this decrease and it's impacting our patient population."
The Iowa Department of Public Health stopped reporting COVID tests on their online dashboard in April. There is currently no information on the virus on the state's "Other Respiratory Viruses" page either.
CDC data shows that 31 patients statewide have been admitted for COVID-19 in the past week, an 11% drop from the previous week.
The World Health Organization said in early May that the virus no longer qualifies as a global emergency, and the U.S. followed suit a week later.