Officials with the Pottawattamie County Public Health Department have reported six new, positive cases of COVID-19, bring the total number of cases to 42. The information released today (Thursday) said 20 of the 42 individuals have recovered, 19 are self-isolating at home, one is hospitalized, and as previously mentioned, there have been two deaths.

The six new cases are residents of Council Bluffs and include two females and four males. Two are between the ages of 61-and 80. Three are between 41-and 60 years of age, and one is age 18-to 40. Four have pre-existing conditions. All six cases were the result of “Community spread, ” and all six are self-isolating at home.

Officials say as testing capacity increases, the number of positive cases reported will also increase. Contact tracing investigations are conducted any time a case of COVID-19 is confirmed.  That includes an assessment of risk to the general public. If there is no risk, Pott. County Public Health will communicate directly with specific contacts identified in the investigation.

If and when a risk to the general public is identified, public health officials will identify the location and communicate any plan of action those who may have been in the area, should take.

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s confident in the results from the COVID-19 test kits that Utah companies are providing for the “Test Iowa” program. The Salt Lake Tribune reports medical experts are questioning the accuracy of the “Test Utah” program the same companies are running. Reynolds says the state lab processing Test Iowa kits is taking all precautions necessary to validate results.

“Test Utah is located at a regional hospital. We decided to bring ours into the State Hygienic Lab through the University of Iowa,” Reynolds says, “….to make sure that we can assure Iowans that the results we are getting are accurate and what they should be.” Reynolds suggests the high number of negative COVID-19 test results in the Test Utah program is related to the expanded amount of testing in that state.

“They’ve opened it up to anyone who wants to test,” Reynolds says. “We’re still keeping ours very narrow.” Iowa is limiting testing to essential workers in health care and meatpacking, as well as Iowans who have symptoms or who’ve been around someone who’s tested positive for COVID-19. Reynolds says the test kits the Utah companies developed are F-D-A approved, but the governor suggests Utah’s process of confirming test results may be different from what’s happening at the lab in Coralville.

“I can assure you, because we’re on the phone with them every day, that they’re taking every measure and taking every step that they can to make sure that they are doing the validation process accurately and they can be confident in the results they’re reporting out to Iowans.”

Test Iowa drive-through sites are operating in Des Moines and Waterloo. State officials do not intend to break out Test Iowa results in their daily reports of COVID-19 data.

(Atlantic) – A new program is available in Cass County to assist with food needs during COVID-19. Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All will deliver food to anyone in Cass County who needs food at this time. The program is the result of an $86,580 grant Cass County received from the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

The county applied for the funding to assist with food delivery during COVID-19 in partnership with the Cass County Local Food Policy Council, Cass County Public Health, Cass County ISU Extension, and SWITA. The program is designed to help people stay home and social distance while supplementing the work of the Cass County food pantries.

Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh shared the project team is keeping in close contact with Cass County food pantries working to build on the services those pantries provide.Food delivery is a critical component of the project. By offering food delivery to people’s doors, Mobile Food For All keeps residents safe and mitigates the spread of COVID-19.

“It’s very important for the safety and health of Cass County that people continue to stay home and avoid being out and about as much as possible,” commented Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen. Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All is available to anyone in Cass County who needs assistance affording food at this time. No proof of need is required, but the project team asks that only people needing the additional support register so that resources can be channeled to those who need them most.

For more information on Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For ALL, and to register for the program visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/content/cass-county-covid-19-mobile-food-all or call Cass County Public Health at (712) 243-7443. Please note: if you are signing up within three days of scheduled delivery, you may not receive your first order until the following week due to supplier delivery schedules

NEW SHARON, Iowa (The Des Moines Register) — Police in central Iowa have arrested a woman they say called 911 to report she had shot and killed her husband days earlier. The Des Moines Register reports that 69-year-old Carol Ann Davis, of New Sharon, called the emergency number Wednesday morning to report she had killed her husband at their home on Sunday. Deputies who later arrived at the home found 55-year-old Steve Davis dead with a gunshot wound to his head. Carol Ann Davis told investigators that she shot her husband in his sleep after he complained of issues at work and asked her to shoot him once he fell asleep. She’s being held on $1 million bond.

CLARINDA – The Iowa Department of Corrections said Thursday, “Earlier today, the Clarinda Correctional Facility (CCF) was notified that an inmate has tested positive for COVID-19. The inmate is an adult (between the ages of 18 and 40) male, and has been in medical isolation since first notifying staff that he was not feeling well on Saturday, April 25. Staff at CCF acted swiftly to also place the unit that the inmate was originally residing into a quarantine status until the results of the test could be determined.

Working with the Iowa Dept. of Public Health and the State Hygienic Lab, CCF will be conducting additional testing of staff and inmates at the facility to identify those that might be carrying the virus while asymptomatic. The inmate that tested positive, who has been at this prison for several months, has been recovering in medical isolation, and has experienced mild symptoms. He is being monitored by medical staff regularly.”

The department says it has been preparing for the eventuality of COVID-19 in the prison system for more than a month. An outline of the steps that have been taken can be found at doc.iowa.gov/department-corrections-steps, and more information related to COVID-19 in the DOC can be found at doc.iowa.gov/COVID19. For members of the public with questions about COVID-19 in the prison system, a hotline is available during business hours Monday-Friday by calling (515) 373-5457.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a second person who works within the Black Hawk County Jail in north-central Iowa has tested positive for COVID-19. The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office says an employee of Summit Food Services, the company that prepares meals for inmates, has been infected with the virus. Sheriff’s Capt. Nathan Neff says the kitchen staff has very limited contact with jail staff and no contact with inmates. Earlier in the week, the jail announced that a nurse who works the overnight shift at the jail had also tested positive. Officials said the nurse had very little contact with staff and inmates.

In her daily press briefing, Thursday (today) Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said over the previous 24-hours, the State has had 302 new, positive test results confirmed for COVID-19, for a total of 7,145. 89% of those positive results came from 22 counties where restrictions remain in-place. 198 of the new cases came from Black Hawk, Dallas and Polk Counties. There were also 1,028 new, Negative COVID-19 test results returned from the labs, for a total of 35,552. Nearly 2,700 Iowans have recovered from the virus, for a recovery rate of 38%.

14 Iowans have died from COVID-19 over the past 24-reporting hours, for a total of 162. Five of the deaths occurred in Muscatine County, three each in Linn and Polk Counties, and one each in Dubuque, Marshall and Scott Counties. Reynolds warned that even though restrictions placed on some businesses and gatherings to slow the spread of the Coronavirus are being partially lifted on Friday, Iowan’s must expect “Normal to look and feel a little different for a while.”

She said if Iowan’s continue to do their part to limit the spread of COVID-19, life can get back to normal “In a safe and responsible way.”

(Updated) With regard to other State data, the Governor said across the six RMCC’s (Regional Medical Classification Centers):

• 335 Iowans are hospitalized with COVID-19
• 49 have been admitted within the past 24-hours
• 121 COVID-19 patients are in an ICU
• 86 are on ventilators.

There are currently 3,943 In-patient beds available for COVID-19 patients, 554 ICU beds, and 658 ventilators available.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors conducted and electronic meeting this (Thursday) morning, via Zoom conferencing. During their session, the Board held a Public Hearing with regard to funding the County has received for COVID-19 response. The County, working with the Cass County Food Policy Council, SWITA, County Food Pantries and Public Health, plans to increase capacity of the food delivery system and food access in Cass County, through a CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) in the amount of $86,580.

Afterward, the Board acted to approve resolutions adopting certain policies, rules and regulations during the performance of a CDBG, and they approved a Sale of Service Contract with SWIPCO/SWITA for the CDBG project. The Supervisors then acted to approve a Cass County/ISU Extension COVID-19 Mobile Food for All contract for the aforementioned CDBG.

In other business, the Board approved and amended resolution to appoint a Cass County Representative/Commissioner to the Regional Housing Authority for a three-year term, retro-active to April 9, 2020. And, they agreed to authorize the Southwest Iowa Mental Health/MHDS Governing Board representative to sign the amended SWIA MHDS 28-E agreement.

The Board the reviewed the deadline for employees to complete their Wellness Programs, in order to qualify for incentives that include a discounted health insurance premium contribution rate, and acted on approving the deadline.

And finally, the Cass County Supervisors opened, read and considered bids for a bridge replacement project (#263) at 700^th Street and Independence Road, Four bids were received. A-M Cohron’s bid was $83,153.70; Cunningham-Reis’ bid was $75,900; Murphy Heaving Contracting submitted a bid of $110,800.10; The final bid was from Nelson and Rock Contracting, Inc. was for $169,400.

The Board elected to approve the bid from Cunningham-Reis.