IowaBio wants to provide our members useful information during the COVID-19 pandemic. This newsletter compiles information on state, federal and industry action to combat the virus and its impacts.

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Iowa Update

Yesterday at her press conference, Governor Reynolds discussed high positivity rates in rural counties, like those in Northwest Iowa (eg Lyon, Sioux, Osceola,) with the state’s highest 14 day rolling average positivity rates. What they are seeing in rural counties is different, because new COVID cases in Northwest Iowa and other rural counties are more evenly distributed among age groups, not like more populous counties with spread driven by younger adults. They are seeing community spread in Northwest Iowa, and they cannot be tied to one specific event or activity, Dr. Caitlin Pedati, State Epidemiologist said. The Governor said Midwest states such as South Dakota, Missouri and Wisconsin are seeing higher virus activity now.

As typical at the start of any school year, virus activity increases as school begins, the Governor said. Schools are taking their responsibility to mitigate the virus very seriously. A common frustration expressed to the Governor was the quarantine guidance for those who had been exposed. In some situations, they are having to quarantine a disproportionate number of students when only a few cases are reported.

IDPH announced changes to quarantine guidelines. Broader use of face coverings can help mitigate the virus, Dr. Pedati said. For non-healthcare non-residential settings, individuals who have been consistently wearing face coverings need to still self-monitor, but don’t need to stay at home, after exposure to a mask-wearing COVID positive person. This change is based off of local data, but does not meet current CDC guidance for quarantine, one reporter pointed out. Dr. Pedati said she has been speaking with CDC.

The new quarantine guidance can be found here.

There is not a mask mandate, this is guidance, the Governor said. She said the majority of schools are already wearing masks. She said 75 percent of Iowans polled have said they are wearing masks when they can’t social distance.

Nebraska and Wyoming have adjusted quarantine guidance based on mask wearing requirements, the Governor said. Those in close contact even if wearing face coverings, should still quarantine. Dr. Pedati said, they don’t frequently see additional cases when there are face coverings in use. She cited local examples, in school districts in Sioux County not requiring masks have seen 30 to 130 percent higher rates of new COVID cases than a school district that does. This is not a randomized controlled trial, Dr. Pedati said, which is why they want to work closely with federal partners and other states and make sure they understand the trends. Other information cited to make the change includes that Nebraska and Wyoming have made similar changes, and CDC published a report based on Missouri information about hair dressers who wore masks, Dr. Pedati said.

Monday President Trump announced a new rapid care point of care test by Abbott Laboratories and will be provided to states to expand testing. No additional equipment is needed to use the tests, other than what is in the test kit itself. 100 million of these tests will be allocated to the states to help with school testing and helping “reignite the economy”. States will be able to decide how to use the tests. Iowa will receive 40,000-50,000 tests per week between now and December for a total allocation of 900,000 tests, Governor Reynolds said. The state is working on a detailed distribution plan, but the tests will be prioritized for rural areas and schools. They will not ship directly to schools, but work with health care providers who can provide the test, but also check the general health of children. The first shipment of tests will arrive to the State Hygienic Lab at any time.

The Governor announced that three new Test Iowa clinics will open. A second in Dubuque and two more in Sioux county. Some Test Iowa sites will move location in preparation for winter, and those details will be released when they occur. A complete list of Test Iowa sites is here.

Director of the Department of Education, Ann Lebo, fielded a question about where the Des Moines Public School District is on their path to compliance. It remains the only school district in the state not in compliance with state return to lean guidelines. There has been a plan communicated that would be a compliant plan if implemented, but other than that there has not been other communication from the District, she said.  

Hospitalization rates are higher, and they are keeping in contact with hospitals each day and speaking with individual hospitals to meet beds and staffing needs, the Governor said. Hospitals are testing everyone who checks into hospitals. The number on vents is stable/coming down. Hospitals are doing a great job of managing it, but the state stands ready to assist them, she said.

Surveillance testing has been implemented for long-term care facilities, the Governor said. There is increased testing and facilities are moving into outbreak status. They are doing a better job of controlling it once an outbreak occurs, compared to the beginning of the pandemic, she said.

Currently, IDPH has reported on the state’s coronavirus dashboard, 88,234 Iowans have tested positive, up 978 from our update yesterday morning, with a total of 794,921 tested. 17 additional deaths were reported since our last update, bringing the total to 1,341 deaths. Now 68,341 Iowans have recovered. The overall positivity rate is 11.1% and the total 14 day rolling average positivity rate is 8.7%. The latest on hospitalizations, including how many patients have been admitted in the last 24 hours can be found here. Hospitalizations have risen back to levels not seen since May.

School district statistics including positivity rates by county can be found here. According to guidance issued by the Iowa Department of Education, schools may petition to go to hybrid or online learning with less than 50 percent in-person instruction when the per county percentage positivity rates are above 15 percent in a county on average over the past 14 days (rolling average) AND 10% absenteeism among students is expected for in-person learning.

Currently 12 counties are above 15 percent positivity rate over the past 14 days:
Lyon 29.6%
Sioux 26.7%
Osceola 21.9%
Delaware 19.0%
O’Brien 18.1%
Crawford 17.7%
Plymouth 17.5%
Page 17.2%
Fremont 16.9%
Dubuque 16.5%
Palo Alto 16.1%
Woodbury 15.0%
 
US
Total Cases 7,129,313
Total Deaths 204,598

World
Total Cases 33,692,221
Total Deaths 1,008,842

BIO Pipeline Tracker
739 Unique compounds in development
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