The Iowa prison system has confirmed its first case of an inmate testing positive for the novel coronavirus, officials said Saturday, as the number of cases and deaths statewide continues to rise.

The first state prison inmate to test positive was transferred last Thursday from Henry County to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville. The inmate is between 18 and 40 years old and was sentenced to prison for a drug crime. The inmate is in stable condition and in isolation while staff traces the inmate’s contacts, KWQC-TV reported.

The number of cases of coronavirus in Iowa increased more than 15% last Sunday to 2,902, according to state health officials.

Linn County, the state’s second most populous, has the most confirmed COVID-19 cases. County officials have refrigeration trucks ready to serve as makeshift morgues for an increase in coronavirus-related deaths, KCRG-TV reported.

A team of Iowa State University researchers said the rate of the coronavirus’ spread has slowed but the state hasn’t fully controlled it yet. The team based its conclusion on a computer model the team developed, the Ames Tribune reported.

Yumou Qiu, an assistant professor and team member, said the slowdown indicates the social distancing measures the state has taken are having an effect, but the continued spread of the coronavirus means the pandemic’s effects are far from over.

He said the model relies on the “effective reproduction number,” or average number of secondary cases for each infectious case. A figure of 1.0 – one secondary case for every infectious case – indicates the disease is spreading, and a value below that suggests the spread is decreasing.  Qiu said the value reached a peak of 3.91 on March 16. On Friday, it was 1.65.