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Des Moines' St. Patrick's Day Parade canceled after state of emergency declared Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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>> WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. GOOD EVENING. LATE THIS AFTERNOON, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH WAS INFORMED OF ONE ADDITIONAL POSITIVE CASE OF AN IOWAN WITH COVID-19. THE INDIVIDUAL IS AN OLDER ADULT, AGE 61 TO 80 AND A RESIDENT OF DALLAS COUNTY AND THAT BRINGS OUR TOTAL TO 18. I'M ALSO HERE TONIGHT TO INFORM IOWANS THAT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH HAS DETERMINED, BASED ON THE NEW COVID CASE, AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT THIS EVENING OF COMMUNITY SPREAD IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA, WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE ARE NOW IN COMMUNITY SPREAD AND WE NOW HAVE COMMUNITY SPREAD IN OUR STATE. COMMUNITY SPREAD OCCURS WHEN INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS AND PUBLIC HEALTH CANNOT SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF THE INFECTION OR DETERMINE HOW OR WHERE THEY BECAME INFECTED. DUE TO THE DETECTION OF COMMUNITY SPREAD, THERE ARE NEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH UNDERLYING CONDITIONS AND ALL IOWANS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR CANCELLATIONS AND DISRUPTIONS IN ROUTINE ACTIVITIES. MITIGATION MEASURES SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED IMMEDIATELY TO HAVE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON SLOWING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS. IOWANS HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR WEEKS AND WE ARE, AGAIN, CONFIDENT THAT WE ARE READY. IT'S IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF US CONTINUE TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION TO PROTECT OUR HEALTH AND SAFETY. LEADERS OF INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS OF EVENTS SHOULD BEGIN TO ACT ON THEIR CONTINGENCY PLANS RELATED TO LARGE GATHERINGS, INCLUDING CHURCH SERVICES AS IOWANS PREPARE FOR WORSHIP TOMORROW. IOWANS SHOULD NOT HOLD OR ATTEND LARGE GATHERINGS OF MORE THAN 250 PEOPLE AND CONSIDER MAKING ADJUSTMENTS FOR SMALLER GATHERINGS WITH HIGH-RISK GROUPS. HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD ALSO REVIEW THEIR CONTINGENCY PLANS AND CONSIDER HOW TELEHEALTH CAN SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF IOWANS. AT THIS TIME, WE ARE NOT RECOMMENDING SCHOOL CLOSURES, BUT BASED ON C.D.C. GUIDANCE, IF A SCHOOL HAS A POSITIVE CASE IN A STUDENT, FACULTY -- YEAH. A CASE IN A STUDENT, FACULTY MEMBER OR VISITOR, WE RECOMMEND A SHORT-TERM SUSPENSION OF A FEW DAYS FOR CLEANING TO MITIGATE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS. IF THERE IS SIGNIFICANT ABSENTEEISM OF STAFF AND SHORT- TO MEDIUM LENGTH SUSPENSION OF TWO TO FOUR WEEKS. OR FOR SUBSTANTIAL COMMUNITY SPREAD, AND WE ARE NOT THERE YET, WE WOULD BEGIN TO LOOK AT LONGER SUSPENSIONS OF FOUR TO EIGHT WEEKS OR MORE. AGAIN, WHILE WE ARE NOT RECOMMENDING SCHOOL CLOSURES AT THIS TIME, THIS IS A VERY FLUID SITUATION. WE NEED TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE NUMBER OF CASES IN SCHOOL, COMMUNITY AND THE DAILY CIRCUMSTANCES AT EACH SCHOOL. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS CAN HELP WITH THE CONTINUING GUIDANCE ON THESE IMPORTANT FLESHHOLDS -- THRESHOLDS. I'M ASKING EVERY IOWAN TO DO THEIR PART. INDIVIDUALS 630 YEARS OF AGE AND -- 60 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER WITH UNDERLYING CONDITIONS SHOULD STAY AT HOME AND AVOID GATHERINGS OR OTHER SITUATIONS OF POTENTIAL EXPOSURES, INCLUDING TRAVEL TO AFFECTED AREAS. CONSIDER PERSONAL SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES. AVOID LARGE GATHERINGS, LIMIT THE NUMBER OF ATTENDEES PER GODFATHERING. CONSIDER -- OF THE GATHERING. CONSIDER WORKING REMOTELY OR ONLINE LEARNING WHEN POSSIBLE. ESPECIALLY INDIVIDUALS AT INCREASED RISK -- THAT HAVE INCREASED RISK OF SEVERE ILLNESS. LIMIT NONESSENTIAL WORK TRAVEL AND GATHERINGS. FOLLOW C.D.C. GUIDELINES REGARDING SCHOOL CLOSURES, IF A SCHOOL-BASED CASE IS IDENTIFIED. IMPLEMENT SHORT-TERM SUSPENSION FOR SCHOOL CLEANING AND CONTACT TRACING AND OTHER SCHEDULES TO REDUCE STUDENT MIXING. CANCEL EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AS NEEDED. AS WE HAVE DONE AND CONTINUE TO DO, WE ENCOURAGE IOWANS TO IMPLEMENT PERSONAL PROTECTIVE MEASURES, STAY AT HOME WHEN SICK, WASH THEIR HANDS, COVER COUGHS AND SNEEZES, CLEAN FREQUENTLY TOUCHED SURFACES DAILY, ENSURE HAND HYGIENE SUPPLIES ARE READILY AVAILABLE IN BUILDINGS. IF YOU ARE SICK, CALL YOUR DOCTOR FIRST BEFORE YOU GO FOR AN APPOINTMENT. WE WILL BE MEETING WITH THE LEGISLATIVE LEADERS TOMORROW TO DISCUSS NEXT STEPS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION AND, AGAIN, I'LL JUST CLOSE MY REMARKS BY INDICATING AGAIN OUR PLEDGE TO CONTINUE TO UPDATE THE PUBLIC ON NEW DEVELOPMENTS WHICH HAPPEN BY THE HOUR WITH THIS GLOBAL PANDEMIC. MY OFFICE, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, AND ALL OTHER STATE AGENCIES ARE HERE TO AS