Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds today announced some changes in quarantine recommendations for people that have been exposed to positive cases of COVID-19.
At her morning news conference today, Reynolds said, from now on, close contacts of COVID-positive cases would no longer need to quarantine for 14 days, if a face covering was worn consistently and correctly by the positive case and close contacts. Reynolds said school districts had expressed frustration with the quarantine recommendations.
“In some situations, they are having to quarantine a disproportionately high number of students, when just a few cases have been identified. Iowa is definitely not alone in this challenge, and we have been assessing how other states have handled the situation.”
Reynolds says Nebraska and Wyoming recently adjusted their quarantine rules, depending on whether students and staff are wearing masks.
The Iowa Department of Public Health says positive cases must still isolate. The close contacts should self-monitor. The IDPH recommendation applies in non-healthcare, non-residential settings only. This includes businesses, education, and child care settings. It is not a mandate.
The Governor noted the high rate of cases in northwest Iowa, and especially in Sioux County. Sioux County has had 1,687 tota cases and three deaths, as well as a very high positivity rate of nearly 28%. Woodbury County has had more than 55-hundred cases and 67 deaths with a 15% positivity rate.
Iowa has reported 87,489 cases of the novel coronavirus, and 1,324 deaths.
Plymouth County has had more than 11 hundred cases of covid 19 and 21 deaths, with an 18.1% positivity rate. Osceola County has had 170 total cases and a 21.2% positivity rate.
