Iowa has surpassed 700 COVID-19 deaths as another seven deaths were reported by the state on Friday.
At 10 a.m. Friday, the state was reporting 701 COVID-19-related deaths, an increase of seven deaths since the state's tally at 10 a.m.yesterday, according to the state's Coronavirus.Iowa.gov website.One death has been reported for Thursday.
Iowa had reported 27,473 cases of the novel coronavirus. Woodbury County has tallied 3,107 cases and 43 deaths.
A death in Buena Vista County brings its total to 11. The Northwest Iowa county currently has 1,678 total cases.
Nebraska had accounted for 18,346 cases and 260 deaths.
South Dakota had tallied 6,479 cases and 87 deaths.
Two lawmakers said Thursday that Iowa’s coronavirus testing program mishandled their samples when they tried to get tested after the recent legislative session concluded.Sen. Zach Wahls and Rep. Dave Jacoby, both Coralville Democrats, said that they traveled separately to Cedar Rapids to get tested through TestIowa, the $26 million program touted by Gov. Kim Reynolds.Both wanted to make sure they were virus-free after interacting with colleagues and the public during the session.Both lawmakers’ samples were taken on different days last week. Each said they were informed several days later that their samples were “damaged” or “unusable” and therefore they had to be retested.
Iowa school officials have released guidelines that allow schools to reopen to normal activities as of July 1 without health checks before entering the building, no required face coverings and no required social distancing. A spokeswoman for the Iowa State Education Association, the state’s teacher’s union, says the plan doesn’t comply with CDC guidelines for public places and is an “obscene” gamble on the health of students, teachers and other school employees. An education department spokeswoman says the guidance was created with the Iowa Department of Public Health and schools may require their own stricter measures after consulting with a lawyer and local public health officials.
The families of three workers who died after contracting coronavirus in an Iowa meat plant outbreak are suing Tyson Foods and its top executives, saying the company knowingly put employees at risk and lied to keep them on the job.The lawsuit alleges that Tyson officials were aware the virus was spreading at the Waterloo pork processing plant by late March or early April but kept that information from employees and the public.As the outbreak grew, the lawsuit alleges the company failed to implement safety measures, allowed some sick employees to remain on the production line, and falsely assured workers and the public that the plant was safe.
