Iowa reports 8 presumptive positive COVID-19 cases, Gov. Reynolds signs a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency today; which activates the disaster response and recovery aspects of the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management’s Iowa Emergency Response Plan.

The proclamation authorizes state agencies to utilize resources including personnel, equipment and facilities to perform activities necessary to prevent, contain and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 virus.

Testing at Iowa’s State Hygienic Laboratory has indicated five additional presumptive positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iowa residents, bringing the total to 8 presumptive positive cases, all related to travel. All are recovering at home in isolation.

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According to the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), individuals in four of the new cases reside in Johnson County, were all older adults (61 to 80 years) and were on the same Egyptian cruise as the previous three presumptive positive cases. The remaining individual lives in Pottawattamie County, is a middle-aged adult (41 to 60 years) and recently traveled to California. Testing for the Pottawattamie case was performed in Nebraska.