Woodbury County COVID-19 casualties reached a new high yesterday with four deaths attributed to the disease. Siouxland District Health reported the deaths along with 314 new positive cases of COVID-19. Also, yesterday Iowa had the second-highest single day increase in Covid-19 deaths since the pandemic hit the state. The Iowa Department of Public Health reported eighteen more deaths and 539 additional cases of the coronavirus.
At her coronavirus news conference, Governor Kim Reynolds noted that more than 300 of those additional Iowa cases of Covid-19 are from tests conducted in late April in connection to a Nebraska packing plant.
Reynolds said there continues to be increased coronavirus cases in central and northwest Iowa.
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“We’ve also seen some increased activity in the Sioux City area, where we have opened a test Iowa site, and are conducting surveillance testing in long-term care and manufacturing, with long-term care and manufacturing strike teams.”
Reynolds says the state has also opened another test Iowa site in Crawford County to test employees at manufacturing companies and long term care facilities. Governor Reynolds today also pushed back her announcement of further business re-openings until tomorrow.
Some Iowa hospitals should soon begin receiving an experimental drug approved for emergency use to treat patients with severe COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.
Iowa Department of Public Health deputy director Sarah Reisetter said Tuesday that the state has received 400 vials of the antiviral drug remdesivir, enough to treat between 36 and 66 patients.
With warmer summer weather on the way, Sioux City Parks and Recreation reminds users of city parks and trails to remember to follow guidelines to protect themselves against the spread of COVID-19.
City staff expects parks and trails to be busier than usual this summer because of the number of large events that have been canceled because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Temporary signage has been placed at park entrances and along trails to remind users how they can lessen the risk of exposure to the virus while enjoying the outdoors.
