In Davenport, people, including the elderly, continued to gather for big events, cautious but calm amid new cases of coronavirus in Iowa.

DAVENPORT, Iowa — As Iowa health officials on Monday confirmed eight people have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising the elderly to take extra precautions.

About 80 people usually come out to the Davenport Elks Lodge for Monday night Bingo nights, said Neil Simmons, the Elks' Bingo Chairman. This Monday, it was no different.

"We haven't made any changes," he said of the evening's game night. "As far as our crowd, they have been constant, there has been no change in the people that come out here. He estimated that at least half of the players were senior citizens.

"It seems that our customers are not concerned about it either."

Over at CASI, a senior citizens activity center, 62-year-old Annette O’Donnell could be found at the library, putting together a 300-piece puzzle.

She said has no plans to change her habits, and she recently became a member of CASI, to "mainly be with other people, to get out of the house, just to interact with people."

"I'm pretty sure that there are medical staff who are on top of it and they're gonna try to keep everything contained," she said.

The CDC says those who are older, generally over 60 years of age, or have serious chronic medical conditions like diabetes, heart or lung disease, are at a higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19 and should stock on their regular medication supplies as well as take everyday precautions like washing their hands often.

"We are just asking people, regardless of their age, to be monitoring their health, to implement all of the universal precautions that are recommended," said CASI President and CEO Laura Kopp.

She said the center sees a couple hundred senior citizens and community members come through its doors for its various group activities every day, but emphasized that there was no reason for panic.

"We are focusing a lot on hand washing, we have installed hand sanitation stations. We are doing away with any food just being left out for public consumption where many people can come and take from the snack table and things like that."

"We are asking people not to reuse their cups, to use single-use types of things, just really having a heightened focus on what they can do. What we would normally do during flu or cold season," she added.

O'Donnell said she'd be back for CASI activities such as crocheting, quilting and ceramics, and she would continue her healthy habits: