The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reports 302 new COVID-19 positive tests have been identified as of Thursday morning, including several new cases in the listening area. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced during her daily press conference the state’s total has grown to 7,145 with 14 additional coronavirus-related deaths, marking 162 deaths to date. As for local numbers, health officials confirmed the second Carroll County COVID-19 patient Wednesday and Sac County’s first case Thursday. Audubon and Shelby Counties are unchanged at one and nine cases, respectively. Greene County has increased to five, Guthrie County to 12 and Crawford County to 24. As some businesses in 77 of Iowa’s 99 counties prepare to open tomorrow (Friday), local, state and federal health officials stress Iowans should remain focused on mitigating the virus’s spread through physical distancing, regular handwashing with soap and water, wearing a mask when in public and staying home whenever possible. Iowa Workforce Development Director, Beth Townsend, reminds residents who have received unemployment benefits related to the pandemic should return to work if offered or risk losing those benefits. Some exceptions do exist for employees who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, someone in their household has been diagnosed, a health care provider has recommended not returning to work or other similar virus-related situations. As of April 30, nearly 29,000 new unemployment claims had been filed with 171,000 ongoing claims. For more information on COVID-19 in Iowa, follow the links included below.
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https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/
