The Iowa Department of Public Health reported on Sunday that another 188 residents of Johnson County had tested positive for COVID-19 during the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. The department’s official 14-day average positivity rate for the county also increased to 22.3 percent. In its Sunday analysis of the spread of COVID-19 in metro […]
Iowa Department of Public Health
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Iowa City school board votes to start the year fully online amid COVID-19 spike in Johnson County
The Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors voted unanimously on Saturday to start the school year with two weeks of all online instruction. The decision was made possible by a waiver freeing the district from the 50 percent in-person instruction minimum Gov. Reynolds has mandated every school district in Iowa — except for […]
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COVID-19: Iowa City ranks high on list of surging U.S. cities as more than 500 UI students report testing positive
The surge of new COVID-19 cases in Johnson County continued on Friday, with the Iowa Department of Public Health reporting 258 new cases in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m., and the New York Times ranking Iowa City second on its list of cities where cases of the virus are have risen fastest on […]
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Iowa City schools granted waiver by state to start classes all online as Johnson County COVID-19 cases soar
The Iowa City Community School District has received a waiver from the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) that will allow it to begin the year with two weeks of all online instruction. The district had applied to DOE for a waiver to exempt its schools from the 50 percent in-person instruction standard Gov. Kim Reynolds […]
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Johnson County has confirmed more than 300 new COVID-19 cases in four days
“Over the past four days we have seen a surge of [COVID-19] cases reported to us, totally over 300, and primarily in younger persons,” Johnson County Public Health Director Dave Koch said in a written statement on Wednesday. “We anticipate this trend to continue.” Koch stressed the importance of social distancing and other simple mitigation […]
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COVID-19: ISU reports 130 cases during its first week of classes; 78 more Johnson County residents test positive
Iowa State University started classes on Aug. 17, and on Monday, ISU reported 130 students and staff members had tested positive for COVID-19 during the first week of classes. The positives accounted for 13.6 percent of the 957 test results the university reported between Aug. 17 and 23. ISU had previously confirmed 175 cases of […]
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COVID-19: UI discloses 111 cases, IDPH reports the first death of child and Indianola schools confirm new case
As classes resumed at the University of Iowa on Monday, the university’s administration published its first COVID-19 case count of the new semester: at least 107 students and four staff members have tested positive so far. “These numbers reflect only self-reported positive or presumed positive COVID-19 tests from UI faculty, staff, and students on the […]
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Hearing date set for ICCSD, educators’ lawsuit against Gov. Reynolds’ school mandate
A hearing has been scheduled for the lawsuit challenging Gov. Kim Reynolds’ authority to order schools to have 50 percent in-person instruction even if local school boards believe COVID-19 conditions make that too dangerous. The Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) and the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA), which represents more than 30,000 educators in […]
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White House Coronavirus Task Force recommends Iowa mandate masks and close bars; Des Moines Public Schools will sue the state for right to keep classes online
Last week, the White House Coronavirus Task Force advised Iowa to require face coverings in 48 of its 99 counties, and close bars in areas with a COVID-19 test positivity rate above 3 percent. The task force recommendations were included in its report dated Aug. 9, which was obtained by the Des Moines Register. “Iowa […]
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IDPH knew for weeks it was misreporting COVID-19 data; Reynolds says it was a minor problem
The Iowa Department of Public Health knew for weeks it was publishing inaccurate information about the spread of COVID-19 in the state, IDPH Medical Director Dr. Caitlin Pedati said in an interview with the Gazette on Wednesday. Pedati told reporter Michaela Ramm she was aware by the end of July that IDPH’s data management system […]
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Iowa’s COVID-19 death toll surpasses 1,000 as problems with data reporting continue
COVID-19 has now killed more than 1,000 Iowans, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, IDPH reported another 16 deaths from the virus, bringing the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,003. The grim milestone comes just days after an IDPH official confirmed the data management system the state uses […]
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Iowa City Community School District joins lawsuit against Reynolds’ school reopening orders
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ order requiring schools to offer at least 50 percent in-person instruction even if a school board decides the spread of COVID-19 in its community makes it unsafe to do so is unconstitutional, according to the attorney for the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA). ISEA General Counsel Jay Hammond said during a news […]
