Iowa COVID-19 Cases Now Number Above 10,000
(Des Moines) — Iowa has now surpassed the benchmark of 10,000 positive cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Governor Kim Reynolds reported the latest statistics during her daily briefing.
Reynolds says while the number of positive cases have been on the rise, so too have the number of negative cases.
Iowa’s death toll from the COVID-19 virus is now at 207, up 19 from Monday. Reynolds says unfortunately, many of the deaths attributed to the coronavirus are with elderly residents with previous health conditions, living in long-term nursing care facilities.
Plymouth County has now reported having 33 positive cases.
Health And Human Services Acknowledge COVID-19 Has Infected Staff And Residents At Facilities
(Des Moines) — The COVID-19 virus has now entered some of the state managed health institutions, and Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Kelly Kennedy-Garcia addressed the situation during the Monday daily briefing.
Garcia says she realized it was going to be a matter of when, not if, the state managed institutions would eventually have positive cases reported.
Garcia informed reporters that all nine state employees are recovering and doing well. Garica says six residents of the Woodward Resource Center have also tested positive for the coronavirus. She explained the protocol used after the COVID-19 virus was first detected within the state.
Garcia offered a timeline as to how the Department of Health and Human Services dealt with the pandemic.
The Health and Human Services director says the agency has a goal of creating an environment of having the staff feel supported when they feel ill. She says the agency is doing everything it can to keep the staff and residents safe from contracting the virus.
Public Health Officials Identify Iowa Companies Defined As Having COVID-19 “Outbreak”
(Des Moines) — Reporters on Monday had asked Sarah Reisetter of the Iowa Department of Public Health as to what is the percentage of positive cases needed for manufacturing and food processing companies to report to state health officials to be considered as an outbreak?
On Tuesday, Reisetter announced the names of several Iowa-based companies that have been classified as having an outbreak.
Reisetter says the public health department continues to monitor companies that employ hundreds of employees and have been identified as a COVID-19 hot spot.
Reynolds Seeks Federal Funds to Cover COVID-19 Test Costs
(Des Moines, IA) — Governor Kim Reynolds hopes to use federal funds to cover the entire 26-million-dollar payment to Utah companies providing “Test Iowa” supplies. Drive-through “Test Iowa” sites have been established in Des Moines, Waterloo and Sioux City — three “hot spots” for COVID-19 activity.
Under current arrangements, Reynolds says it appears the federal government will cover at least 75 percent of the costs of COVID-19 testing, so the state would have to come up with the money for the remaining 25 percent. Reynolds is lobbying federal officials to allow the State of Iowa to use money allocated from the CARES Act to cover all the costs associated with COVID-19
testing in Iowa. That includes pay for the laid-off nurses and health care workers from local hospitals who’re being hired to work at the state’s drive-through testing sites. Volunteer nurses and some state employees are also testing Iowans passing through in vehicles.
Employee of Sioux City Seaboard Triumph Plant Dies of Coronavirus
(Sioux City, IA) — COVID-19 is blamed for the death of a worker at the Seaboard Triumph pork plant in Sioux City. The Islamic Center for Siouxland reports 56-eyar-old Husain Jail died at MercyOne Medical Center. Officials from Seaboard Triumph said in a statement Monday night, “we are saddened to learn today of the death of an employee, and we along with the authorities are coordinating to find family to offer our support.” A spokesman for the Islamic Center said Jair was sick for about a week, staying home for four to five days before spending two days in the hospital where he died. His funeral was held Monday afternoon.
Body Recovered From Des Moines River is Teen Missing Since January
(Des Moines, IA) — The Polk County Medical Examiner’s Office says a body recovered from the Des Moines River is a local teen missing since January. 18-year-old Abdullahi “Abdi” Sharif was last seen at a local Target store. There were no indications of traumatic injury during the autopsy.
Investigators say a cause of death will be determined following complete examination of autopsy findings. Police were called to the river banks near Prospect Park Saturday for a report of a body in the water. The Des Moines Police Department is still investigating why Abdi’s body was in the river.
Colorado Man Gets 6-Year Sentence For Phone Threats to Cedar Rapids Bank
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — A Colorado man will spend six years in federal prison for threatening an Iowa bank and employees over the phone and by text message. Thirty-one-year-old Carl Stuber from Aurora pleaded to two counts of transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce. Stuber called a bank in Cedar Rapids more than 40 times over a two-day period in
October 2018 and threatened to “Columbine” the bank, kill employees, and make false reports to police and fire departments. Prosecutors say Stuber taunted the bank, noting the bank was powerless to stop him as restraining orders
would not work and law enforcement would not extradite him to Iowa.
