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Siouxland District Health says so far there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Woodbury County.
This morning, officials with the public health entity, held a news conference to talk about the limited number of tests available for potential patients. Deputy director Tyler Brock explains.
“The focus is getting people tested who need it the most. O.K. Folks with mild system are going to be told they don’t need to be tested, ok?”
Brock said he couldn’t put an exact number on tests conducted in Woodbury County. But, says all have come back negative, so far.
Last week, Siouxland District Health said there were enough test available for patients. Today, they admit the supply is limited and they don’t know how many are available at health providers and labs in our area.
Brock say if you do get sick stay home and isolated until you have no fever for 72 hours and seven days since your symptoms first appeared.
According to information from the CDC this recommendation will prevent most, but may not prevent all instances of secondary spread.
The seats of Siouxland local governments are closing up due to coronavirus concerns.
Yesterday, a number of other city-run facilities closed at the end of the business day at 4:30 p.m., in response to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proclamation limiting public interactions and gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city facilities that are among those being closed for two weeks include City Hall, Long Lines Family Rec Center and the Parks & Recreation Office and the Sioux City Convention Center.
Iowa’s hospitality industry could be hit with restaurant closings and layoffs without some government financial aid in the wake of a gubernatorial order that halted in-house dining for at least two weeks over concerns about the coronavirus.
Jessica Dunker, president and chief executive of the Iowa Restaurant Association, said Gov. Kim Reynolds’ order Tuesday limiting gatherings to 10 people and closing bars, restaurants, casinos and other businesses will impact 6,000 operators and their 155,000 employees.
Dunker said she was expecting to see at least half — or about 80,000 restaurant workers — join the state’s unemployment rolls in the next several days.
Because of the coronavirus, all public gatherings in Douglas County, Nebraska, the Omaha area, with more than 10 people are prohibited starting Wednesday and running through April 30, the county's health department director said.
The Douglas County sheriff and all chiefs of police in the county ensure compliance with and enforcement of this order. Any person violating the order may be subject to a misdemeanor for each offense.
The Iowa State Education Association issued a statement after learning some school districts plan to stop paychecks for hourly workers who’ve been temporarily laid off.
Mike Beranek, the association’s president, says closing schools is the right decision and follows the advice of state and federal officials, but he says it’s not appropriate to financially punish employees paid by the hour for a situation beyond their control.
Beranek is calling on school boards and school administrators to continue regular paychecks for hourly staff until it is safe for school to resume.
The Iowa Department of Transportation is giving Iowans some leeway in renewing their drivers licenses and vehicle registrations, because of the cornonavirus shutdowns.
If Iowans' driver's licenses or vehicle registration expired in January or later, they do not need to renew until the declared public health disaster is over, the Iowa Department of Transportation announced today.
