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News and resources regarding COVID-19

4.23.20: Jump in Metro-Area COVID-19 Cases, Race Track Update, Unemployment and Early Voting

  

430news.mp3
SPM NEWS - 4:30 PM

Numbers of positive cases of COVID-19 in the Sioux City metro area took a big jump on Thursday.

Dakota County saw the biggest increase with 133 new cases for a total of 246. 

That’s more than double in one day.

A majority are of people between the ages of 21 and 59.  That’s similar for Woodbury County as well.

Woodbury County experienced the biggest one-day total as well with 46 more positive cases, 158 in all.  Twenty-eight have recovered.

An official with Siouxland District Health says the higher number of cases is expected because of a significant increase in testing going on in the area.  And, that trend will continue.  The health department says Iowa law prohibits releasing information that could identify a person or business identified with an illness.

Statewide, the Iowa Department of Public Health on Thursday reported 176 new cases for a total of almost 4,000. However, more than a ¼ of the cases are from Woodbury County.

There were also six more deaths for a total of 96 people.

Interbake Foods in North Sioux City has temporarily shut down after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

The company is cleaning and sanitizing the facility.

All employees who worked closely with the employ will be asked to self isolate.

The operators of Park Jefferson in North Sioux City say due to pressure from Governor Noem and even the CDC races will continue this weekend, but without spectators.

The announcement was made on Facebook.

The venue sold more than 700 tickets for the races and will now offer complete refunds.

Fans can watch the races on TV.

Gov. Kim Reynolds said 121,000 Iowans have completed assessments for the state’s new COVID-19 testing program, but the state still hasn’t determined where and when it will open its other drive thru testing sites.

At a press conference Thursday, Gov. Reynolds said so far few Iowans who qualified for a test have been able to schedule one. That’s because so far the state has set up just one testing site in downtown Des Moines scheduled to open this weekend and all the appointments are already booked.

Gov. Reynolds said the online assessment information will help officials determine where the virus could be.

It gives us a good idea of where some of the hotspots might be where we might see some of clustering. We've seen that happening and some of our processing plants and some of our manufacturing facilities.”

The drive thru sites are part of the 26 million dollar Test Iowa program run by Utah-based Nomi Health. Its goal is to eventually provide an additional 3,000 COVID-19 tests a day for Iowans.

The number of new unemployment claims fell last week in Iowa but the impact of COVID-19 continues to outpace any other recent financial crisis.

Almost 28,000 filed initial claims for unemployment assistance.

That’s down from more than 46,000 the previous week.

Many of the new claims came from the manufacturing sector, followed by health care and the category that includes self-employed workers.

More than 150,000 people are currently receiving unemployment assistance in Iowa.  That’s more than double the number at the peak of the Great Recession.

The number of Nebraska residents seeking unemployment benefits for the first time dropped again last week but is still far higher than usual.

The U.S. Department of Labor says the state received more than 12,000 new unemployment claims during the week that ended April 18.

Nebraska has now seen about 95,000 claims over the past five weeks, well over double the number filed in a typical year.

Dozens of  U.S. meat-processing plants have been forced to close temporarily as the industry struggles to contain the spread of the coronavirus among employees who often stand side-by-side while cutting and packaging beef, pork and poultry.

Giant slaughterhouses that employ thousands of people are designed to have workers close together, making it difficult to adhere to social-distancing guidelines that advise people should stay 6 feet apart.

Even as companies take steps to protect workers, industry experts say it’s nearly impossible to eliminate all risk of catching the virus and they note safety measures have been adopted unevenly.

Early voting in Iowa started on Thursday.  Secretary of State Paul Pate is encouraging Iowans to vote from home to reduce the risk of spreading COVID19 infections. About 2 million absentee ballot request forms have been sent to registered voters and should hit mailboxes next week. Pate says he does not think he will need to change the date of the June 2 primary.

“The track we’re on has enough options available that we’re confident we can still do it on that date.”

Iowans need to be registered with a political party to vote in a primary election. No-party voters can request a Republican or Democratic ballot but their registrations will be changed to that political party.