The ongoing spread of the delta variant is claiming lives and threatening a return to normalcy in the United States. So far, 659,336 Americans have died from the virus — more than the total number of Americans killed in World War I and World War II combined.
In the Des Moines-West Des Moines metropolitan area, located in Iowa, a total of 919 deaths have been attributed to the virus, equal to 145 fatalities for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, 202 deaths have been attributed to the virus per 100,000 people.
Though deaths attributable to the virus are less common across the metro area than they are nationwide, this is not the case in some parts of the city.
The broader Des Moines metro area comprises five counties or county equivalents — and of them, Guthrie County has had the most COVID-19 fatalities per capita. So far, the per capita coronavirus death rate in Guthrie County stands at 300 for every 100,000 people.
With the highest per capita death rate in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area, Guthrie County ranks among the top 25% of all U.S. counties or county equivalents by COVID-19 death rate per capita.
All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of Sept. 16, 2021.
These are all the counties in Iowa where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).
| Rank | Geography | Deaths per 100,000 people | Total deaths | Confirmed cases per 100,000 people | Total confirmed cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guthrie County, IA | 300 | 32 | 12,938 | 1,381 |
| 2 | Warren County, IA | 188 | 93 | 13,896 | 6,859 |
| 3 | Polk County, IA | 142 | 672 | 14,199 | 67,341 |
| 4 | Madison County, IA | 126 | 20 | 12,196 | 1,938 |
| 5 | Dallas County, IA | 121 | 102 | 15,173 | 12,746 |
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