The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) was notified of 125 additional positive cases for a total of 1,270 positive cases as of April 8 at 6 pm. There were an additional 882 negative tests for a total of 13,703 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs.
According to IDPH, an additional 2 deaths were also reported – both Linn County residents, one age 61-80 years and one older than 81 years. (Scroll to the end of this post for more numbers.)
Still, Gov Kim Reynolds and IDPH deputy director Sarah Riesetter shared glimmers of hope at their daily COVID-19 briefing April 9.
Reynolds provided numbers of hospitalized patients, available acute and intensive care hospital beds, and the number of ventilators in the two western Regional Medical Coordination Centers, the two areas with the fewest cases. She also updated the number of ventilators available in the eastern regions, both with high COVID numbers. None of the regions are close to capacity in medical resources.
“As we’re seeing across all of Iowa’s RMCC regions, Iowa’s capacity to care for COVID-19 patients and available resources are very good at this time. We’re monitoring this information daily and if the situation changes, we’re ready to respond,” Reynolds said.
Personal protective equipment is a different story. “From the very beginning, this (PPE) has been an issue for every state across the country,” she said. “That’s why we’ve been pro-active, an ‘all hands on deck’ approach… and Iowans are responding.”
According to Reynolds, Iowa Prison Industries has produced more than 25,000 masks, 3,000 gowns, 5,000 face shields and 7,000 gallons of hand sanitizer. Dimensional Graphics of Mason City is producing 100,000 face shields that will be in the state’s stockpile next week for distribution to medical centers and long term care centers. The Iowa National Guard and other state agencies have made 353 deliveries of PPE.
“The PPE is going to continue to be an issue. We’re monitoring it very carefully… We can’t let up for a second. We need to continue to dig deep, do our part, and answer the call,” she said.
During the Q & A, Reynolds was asked (again) if one of the RMCC’s reaching a score of 10 would be an automatic trigger for a shelter-in-place order for the entire state or only that region. Region 5, which includes Johnson County/Iowa City, is at 9. Greene County is in Region 1, which includes Polk County. Region 1 is at 8.
On Thursday, Reynolds said her team is looking at a series of next steps “from a regional perspective. We’re also looking at various counties and various communities. We’re collecting all of that data.
“But first and foremost, we really can do what we need to do by Iowans following through with what we’ve asked them to do. That’s how we protect every Iowan. Stay home. Only go out for essential things…. If you go out and exercise, do it responsibly. Practice social distancing. Don’t gather in groups larger than 10 people. If you’re sick, isolate yourself. If someone in your household is sick, isolate your family.
“If we all dig deep and do what we’ve asked you to do, we will continue to see the curve start to flatten, we’ll se numbers drop, and we’ll start to talk about how we dial back up this economy,” Reynolds said.
Riesetter of IDPH also said “the epidemiological curve is starting to flatten. That means that Iowans are listening. It’s time to continue to do those things so we don’t start moving in the wrong direction.”
Cases increased last week and this week as predicted, but not as much as predicted. “The reason we’re seeing that is that Iowans are doing what we’re asking them to do,” she said. She repeated the “Stay home, social distance” refrain and then said, “If we can all continue to do that, hopefully we’ll see a flat curve, and then we can talk about antibody testing, and then reducing mitigation strategies, and we can talk about getting back to normal.”
“What Iowans have done has been incredibly helpful and we want you to continue to do all of those things,” Riesetter said.
Reynolds asked all Iowans to join together during Passover and Holy Week to pray for “protection, healing, grace and peace. “This has been a challenging time for all of us, but with God’s grace, there’s always a promise of hope,” she said.
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According to IDPH, the locations and age ranges of the 125 new cases reported April 8 individuals include:
• Benton County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 2 middle age adults (41-60 years)
• Black Hawk County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Boone County, 1 middle age adults (41-60 years)
• Buchanan County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Cedar County, 1 middle age adults (41-60 years)
• Cerro Gordo County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Chickasaw County, 1 middle age adults (41-60 years)
• Clinton County, 1 child (0-17 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Dallas County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Dubuque County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 2 middle age adults (41-60 years)
• Iowa County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
• Jasper County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Johnson County, 8 adults (18-40 years), 12 middle age adults (41-60 years), 4 older adults (61-80 years)
• Jones County, 2 middle age adults (41-60 years)
• Linn County, 1 child (0-17 years), 7 adults (18-40 years), 6 middle age adults (41-60 years), 3 older adults (61-80), 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Louisa County, 4 adults (18-40 years), 6 middle age adults (41-60 years), 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Marshall County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 1 middle age adult (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Muscatine County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 6 middle age adults (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years), 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Polk County, 2 adults (18-40 years), 3 middle age adults (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Scott County, 1 child (0-17 years), 6 adults (18-40 years), 2 middle age adults (41-60 years), 2 older adults (61-80 years)
• Story County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Tama County, 3 adults (18-40 years), 9 middle age adults (41-60 years), 3 older adults (61-80 years), 2 elderly adults (81+)
• Washington County, 2 middle age adults (41-60 years), 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Winneshiek County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
• Woodbury County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
