The Johnson County Public Health Department (JCPH) announced the first confirmed case of monkeypox in Johnson County on Tuesday evening. It is the fifth confirmed case of the virus in Iowa. JCPH is working with the Iowa Department of Public Health “to investigate the circumstances of exposure and inform close contacts,” JCPH said in a […]
Iowa Department of Public Health
Posted inEastern Iowa
Gov. Reynolds fails to get Open Records Act lawsuit dismissed; complains about State Auditor doing audits
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ attempt to get a lawsuit over her administration’s failure to comply with Iowa’s Open Records Act dismissed failed on Friday. Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin rejected the argument by the governor’s attorney that the case is now moot because the state had finally turned over all the records covered by […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Auditor concludes Gov. Reynolds has failed to justify almost $450,000 in pandemic relief spent on staff pay
Just hours before Gov. Kim Reynolds boasted about her handling of the pandemic (“we honored your freedoms”) in the Republican response to the State of the Union address on Tuesday, Iowa Auditor Rob Sand published a report that reiterated his finding from last October that the governor had misappropriated almost $450,000 in federal pandemic relief […]
Posted inCommunity/News
As national GOP leaders praise Gov. Reynolds’ handling of the pandemic, Iowa COVID deaths surpass 9,000
One day after national Republican leaders praised Gov. Kim Reynolds as “a national leader in effectively balancing lives and livelihoods” during the pandemic, the Iowa Department of Public Health disclosed that more than 9,000 Iowans have died from COVID-19. In its update on Wednesday, IDPH reported another 137 deaths from the virus, bringing the state’s […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa discovers thousands of previously unreported COVID cases, as Republicans push through bill to nix vaccination incentives
The state changed how it provides information about COVID-19 cases and deaths to the public this week, as the Reynolds administration officially stopped treating the pandemic as a public health emergency at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday. Instead of the weekly COVID-19 update the Iowa Department of Public Health used to post to coronavirus.iowa.gov […]
Posted inCommunity/News
COVID-19: Gov. Reynolds says ‘We need to move on,’ IDPH reports another 172 deaths
“It’s time to end it and move on,” Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters at the Iowa State Capitol on Wednesday when asked about her decision to stop classifying COVID-19 as a public health emergency next week. “And we need to treat it [COVID-19] like we do other viruses. So, the Department of Public Health will […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds: COVID-19 is now ‘part of our everyday lives,’ no longer ‘a public health emergency’
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on Thursday her administration will officially stop taking any action that treats “COVID-19 as a public health emergency” at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15. That is when the extension of the state’s Public Health Disaster Emergency Proclamation the governor signed before her announcement expires. The proclamation was first issued on […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Only 19% of the state’s 5-11 year-olds fully vaccinated against COVID; Iowa Republicans advance bill to ban vaccine requirement in schools and childcare centers
The number of new cases of COVID-19 in the Iowa Department of Health’s weekly update declined for the second week in a row, possibly indicating the surge driven by the spread of the Omicron variant in the state is now receding. According to IDPH, there were 22,730 newly confirmed cases of the virus over the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
As COVID surges on, Iowa Republicans advance bills to make it easier to use ivermectin and harder to vaccinate kids
The number of new cases of COVID-19 reported by the Iowa Department of Public Health declined from the record-setting 38,574 new cases in last week’s IDPH weekly update, but was still the second-highest weekly total IDPH has reported during the pandemic. According to the department, another 34,949 Iowans tested positive for the virus since its […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Record number of Iowans test positive for COVID; Gov. Reynolds says cases are undercounted, but doesn’t think state needs to reopen test sites
In its weekly COVID-19 update on Wednesday, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported the highest number of new cases of the virus during a seven-day period since the first cases were discovered in the state in March 2020. According to IDPH, another 38,574 Iowans tested positive from Jan. 12-18. But in an interview with […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Drive-through COVID-19 test site opens in North Liberty
Free rapid antigen testing and PCR testing are available through a new drive-through COVID-19 test site set up by the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) at Liberty High School in North Liberty. “There are no out-of-pocket costs, but those with insurance are asked to bring their insurance card,” the district said in a statement […]
Posted inCommunity/News
COVID-19: Iowa surpasses 8,000 deaths; Gov. Reynolds says Iowa is ‘better off’ because of her policies
Johnson County Public Health suspended its routine case investigation and contact tracing for newly reported cases of COVID-19 because the ongoing surge in virus spread has overwhelmed its ability to conduct those investigations and tracing in an effective manner. “During the past week, there has been a 250% increase in cases from the previous week,” […]
