DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The latest coronavirus figures in Iowa show the number of confirmed cases nearly doubled in the 24-hour period from Wednesday morning to Thursday, pushing the state’s total to more than 40,500.

 The state health department’s virus tracking site showed that as of 10 a.m. Thursday, there had been 716 cases confirmed from the day before, when 374 cases were confirmed. The state also reported seven more deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. That brought Iowa’s total to 815 since the beginning of the outbreak.
 

Hospitalizations for the virus also continued to creep upward, with 232 people hospitalized for the virus by Thursday morning. That’s higher than what had been seen in recent weeks, but still far lower than the state’s peak of 417 on May 6.

 Iowa hospitals also showed slight drops in space and equipment available to treat the outbreak and other maladies. The online tracker showed 38% of the state’s hospital beds available and 79% of its 790 ventilators available on Thursday.