On the same day Iowa surpassed 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, Gov. Kim Reynolds encouraged people to attend a rally being held by President Trump in Des Moines on Wednesday. “Protect Iowa’s future, and show your support for President Trump!” Reynolds tweeted from the account she uses for campaign-related items on Monday, just hours after […]
Iowa Department of Public Health
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More than 100,000 Iowans have now tested positive for COVID-19
The number of Iowans who have tested positive for COVID-19 since it was first detected in the state on March 8 surpassed 100,000 over the weekend. At 10 a.m. Monday, the Iowa Department of Public Health was reporting 100,052 confirmed cases of the virus, an increase of 3,011 cases since 10 a.m. on Friday. Among […]
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New state program to help Iowans with past due utility bills due to COVID-19 losses
The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) launched a new program on Friday to help people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic pay past due utility bills. The Residential Utility Disruption Prevention Program “will provide eligible households with up to $2,000 towards electric, natural gas and water bills if they are at risk of disconnection due to […]
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White House Coronavirus Task Force points to Iowa’s ‘many preventable deaths’ in new report
The failure to control community spread of COVID-19 in Iowa has caused “many preventable deaths,” according to the latest report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force. The new report, delivered to the state on Sunday, was released to reporters on Thursday morning. “Iowa is in the red zone for cases, indicating 101 or more […]
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Wineries and distilleries in Johnson County allowed to reopen, bars can reopen Monday
Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a new emergency health proclamation on Friday afternoon, allowing wineries, distilleries and breweries in Johnson County and Story County to reopen to the public and serve alcohol starting at 5 p.m. Friday evening. Bars in the two counties may reopen starting at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 5. Reynolds ordered bars […]
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Gov. Reynolds relaxes COVID-19 quarantine guidelines for schools
Iowa schools will no longer be required to follow the CDC’s COVID-19 quarantine guidelines, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced at her news conference on Tuesday. Previously, students and staff who were in close contact with someone who tested positive were supposed to self-quarantine for 14 days. Close contact is defined as being within six feet of […]
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Iowa takes its first action against a meat-packing plant for COVID-19 violations, issues $957 fine
Meat-processing plants have repeatedly been the epicenters of COVID-19 outbreaks in Iowa, and this month the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its first fine to a plant for virus-related violations. Iowa Premium Beef Plant in Tama, where an outbreak in April infected more than 300 workers, was fined $967, Ryan J. Foley of […]
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Poll finds increasing number of Iowans disapprove of Reynolds’ handling of COVID-19, as another 1,341 cases are reported
Almost half of all Iowans disapprove of how Gov. Kim Reynolds is handling the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Iowa Poll. Forty-seven percent of respondents in the poll published by the Des Moines Register on Thursday disapproved of Reynolds’ performance, an increase of 11 percentage points since the last time the Iowa Poll surveyed […]
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Johnson County surpasses 5,000 COVID-19 cases
The number of people in Johnson County who have tested positive for COVID-19 surpassed 5,000 on Monday, as the Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 12 confirmed cases of the virus in the county during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. The new cases brought the total number of county residents who have […]
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962 complaints about Iowa restaurants violating COVID-19 rules have resulted in one written warning
The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA) has received 962 complaints about restaurants violating social distancing and other COVID-19 mitigation requirements, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported on Thursday. DIA has issued one warning as a result. An Aug. 14 warning emailed to Jason Jasnos, owner of Classic Deli & Ice Cream Shoppe in Brooklyn, Iowa, […]
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State Hygienic Lab tells nursing homes it’s unable to process COVID-19 tests required by the federal government
Gov. Kim Reynolds boasted about the work the State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) has done processing COVID-19 tests — and stressed her administration’s commitment to protecting residents of long-term care facilities — during her news conference on Wednesday, shortly after the Iowa Department of Public Health and SHL sent long-term care facilities a letter announcing “SHL […]
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COVID-19: Gov. Reynolds sees ‘trends trend in the right direction,’ but Iowa remains third worst state in rate of new cases
Gov. Kim Reynolds said on Wednesday she doesn’t expect COVID-19 to be an obstacle to the University of Iowa playing football this fall, because the UI community will observe restrictions imposed to mitigate the spread of the virus. “I think that the universities, the university presidents, the students, the Greek systems, I think understand the […]
