On the day that Iowans began the careful balancing act of reopening the economy in 77 counties while maintaining prudent precautions against the spread of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the Iowa Department of Public Health announced 739 new cases of the disease, bringing the total to 7,884. Eighty-five percent of the new positive cases are in the 22 counties where full mitigation restrictions remain in place.
As of 10 am Thursday, 345 Iowans were hospitalized with COVID-19, 121 of them in intensive care and 91 of those in ICU on ventilators.
IDPH continues to remind Iowans that the number of positive cases will continue to grow as the Test Iowa initiative gains momentum and additional surveillance testing of large businesses and nursing home staff continues. At this time, one in every 69 Iowans have been tested.
Eight Iowans died of COVID-19 in the 24 hours preceding Thursday at 10 am. 
Reynolds said at her daily press briefing Friday that the increased testing has created a backlog on daily data reporting at the state hygienic lab. The backlog will be caught up over the weekend, she said. She said the situation is short term as the lab works through the increased testing capacity and also works to validate results of Test Iowa process.
She also noted that church services may be held in all 99 counties this weekend. “In times this this, it’s our faith that gives so many of us the strength we need,” she said.
Many religious communities plan to take extra time to adjust their facilities and adapt their services to protect the health and safety of their members. “I appreciate the thoughtful approach of these decisions and also the thoughtful approach of those who chose to hold services this weekend,” she said.
Sarah Riesetter of the IDPH shared guideline in place for religious services, noting that social distancing is required; hand washing/sanitizing stations should be readily available; and cleaning, particularly of high-touch areas, should be frequent. All who attend should consider wearing face masks or coverings, and those at high risk should consider staying home.
She also clarified that weddings and funerals are considered a religious or worship service. Wedding receptions and funeral visitations are not and still must be limited to 10 persons or fewer.
Greg Baker, vice president of The Family Leader, was invited to speak. The Family Leader’s goal mission is “strengthening families, by inspiring Christ-like leadership in the home, the church, and the government.”
According to Baker, The Family Leader has been working for six years with elected officials to partner in meeting community needs.
Baker said many churches will continue online services for the next several weeks, particularly in the 22 counties with the highest incidence of COVID-19. There will also be parking lot services, and small virtual community groups will continue, but most churches will not return to regular services immediately.
Also at the press briefing, Reynolds announced that Iowa has been approved for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Administration for the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training program. The program helps individuals and communities recover from disasters through community-based outreach, short-term inventions that help people understand their current situation, manage stress, develop coping skills, and connect with other resources needed for the recovery process.
The Iowa Department of Human Services is working with Homeland Security in implementing the program.
During the Q & A, Reisetter said IDPH had anticipated Iowa’s case count would peak in late April or early May. “At this time I don’t want to speculate that we’ve met our peak and we’re going in the other direction… We are going to see case counts continue to go up over the weekend as we some of the results of large testing initiatives continue to be reported. We’ll keep an eye on it. We’ll continue to give the best guidance we can based on what’s happening in our state,” she said.
