The number of COVID-19 cases in Greene County has increased to five, with three additional cases identified during the 24 hours preceding Wednesday at 10 am. The first local COVID case was identified April 6; that person has now recovered. There were no other cases reported until Tuesday, April 28. As of Tuesday, 91 Greene County residents have been tested, or about 1 percent.
Greene County public health has not yet provided demographic information about the new patients.
Statewide, the Iowa Department of Public Health was notified of 302 new positive cases during the reporting period. The total number of positive cases is 7,145. Of the new cases, 269 are in the 22 counties where mitigation will not be eased effective May 1; 198 of the new cases are in Dallas, Black Hawk and Polk counties.
As of Tuesday, 42,667 Iowans have been tested, a ratio of 1 of every 74 Iowans. In Greene County, the ratio is closer to 1 of every 100 residents.
An additional 14 Iowans died of COVID-19 during the reporting period, bringing the toll to 162. Gov Kim Reynolds no longer provides the total number of deaths during her daily press briefing. 
Reynolds’ prepared comments at the Thursday briefing were about the end of some restrictions effective Friday. She called the first steps in 77 counties with only limited COVID activity “welcome signs that life will eventually get back to normal.”
She cautioned that “normal will look a little different for awhile. COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere any time soon. The virus will continue to be in our communities and, unfortunately, people will still get sick until a vaccine is available.
“Keeping businesses closed for weeks or months longer won’t change that fact. It simple is not sustainable. It’s not sustainable for Iowans, their livelihood, or our economy. We must all learn how to manage the virus in the course of our daily lives,” Reynolds said.
Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development, provided information about the monetary impact on Iowans.
Townsend reported that last week 28,827 initial claims for unemployment benefits were filed; there were 170,990 continuing weekly claims. More than $51.4 million was paid in unemployment benefits. Additionally, $102.7 million was paid in federal pandemic unemployment compensation (FPUC) benefits to more than 153,000 Iowans.
Since April 4, Iowa Workforce Development has paid more than $327 million in FPUC benefits.
Also, $4.8 million has been paid to 13,334 Iowans as pandemic unemployment assistance benefits. Those funds are for persons who are not typically eligible for unemployment benefits. Self-employed people and those who work under contract to a company rather than as an employee of a company are among those who qualified for that funding.
Townsend said the IWD phone system has been updated to add music while a person is “on hold.” Until this week, once a caller went through the automated queue, the line went silent, prompting many people to hang up, thinking their call had been dropped. The update will let people know they’re still in line waiting to talk with IWD staff.
Townsend reiterated that a person who is recalled to work but choses not to return will lose unemployment benefits.
However, she listed scenarios that would allow a person to remain at home without losing benefits.
• A worker diagnosed with COVID-19 or experiencing symptoms, or has a household member with COVID-19 or is caring for household member with the illness
• A worker or someone with a household in a high risk category who has been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns
• A worker who lacks necessary childcare because of COVID-19
• A worker who cannot reach his place of employment because of the outbreak
• A worker who has had COVID-19 and has recovered, but complications of the illness have made him/her unable to do the essential functions of the job
“We strongly encourage all Iowans to talk with their employers prior to their return to work to understand the measures they’re taking to ensure the safety of their employees and customers,” Townsend said.
Debi Durham, Iowa Economic Development Authority director, spoke about the Small Business Relief Program. Durham reported that $24 million in state funds was made available to assist 1,200 small business owners in mid-April. Funding was again expanded, and to date, 2,600 small business owners have received $50 million in assistance. There are still “several thousand” eligible small businesses in the applicant pool. Durham said IEDA is working with Reynolds to secure more funding.
Several questions during the Q & A were in response to a Salt Lake City Tribune article revealing inaccuracies in the Test Utah program. Specifically, a high number of false negative tests were found. The Test Iowa initiative is modeled after Test Utah and uses the same companies.
Reynolds said the tests are FDA approved, and that the State Hygienic Lab is monitoring the testing and validating results. Reynolds said she has confidence in the work of the State Hygienic Lab to be sure testing is correct.
