(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds today (Monday) reported 43 Iowans have died of COVID-19 so far this spring and 53 percent of those who’ve died of the virus were residents of a nursing home. “This is why it has been so important that we prioritize testing for essential workers and vulnerable Iowans,” Reynolds says. There are 444 long-term care facilities in Iowa. State officials have confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes in Washington, Toledo and Cedar Rapids. The governor says new machines that can produce testing results in as little as five minutes are being sent to some of the nursing homes.  “When an essential worker tests positive for COVID-19, local public health officials are able to conduct contract tracing,” Reynolds says, “to determine any potential exposures that may have occurred and isolate those individuals as soon as possible those to prevent further spread of the virus.”

The governor issued an order in March that requires nursing home staff to undergo health care screening and have their temperatures taken at the start and end of each shift. Reynolds is thanking nursing home employees for their work. “You’re more than caregivers. You’re heroes on the front line of this crisis and I know this situation is especially difficult for you,” Reynolds says, “so thank you for showing up every day with compassion and integrity and for caring for your residents as you would your own family.”

Reynolds today (Monday) was asked about potential COVID-19 outbreaks at meat packing plants in Tama and Louisa Counties. She indicated a machine has been sent to one of the plants, but she did not specify which one. “In addition, they were able to send additional swabs to work with the local public health and the facility’s public health team to administer those so that we could start to get some sense of again who was testing positive and negative,” Reynolds says, “and to start to do the contact tracing to start to understand the scope of the exposures.”

The latest state report indicates 79 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Louisa County. A WEEK AGO, managers of the Tyson plant in Louisa County announced more than two dozen workers had tested positive. Earlier this month, the beef packing plant in Tama temporarily suspended operations after one employee tested positive for COVID-19. Today’s (Monday’s) state report indicates 101 Tama County residents have tested positive for the virus. State officials have identified a COVID-19 outbreak at the Premier Estates nursing home in Toledo, which is in Tama County, but the number of cases associated with the facility has not been made public.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers today (Monday), said on Wednesday, April 8th, Clarinda Police Department K-9 “Raiko,” and his handler, Officer Robert Reed, started patrolling in style thanks to the Clarinda Foundation. Brothers says the Clarinda Foundation was instrumental in assisting the department in establishing the K-9 program in June of 2017. At that time, a 2011 Chevrolet Impala was retro-fitted to accommodate the K-9 unit. It was functional, but not an ideal situation.

Today, Raiko and Officer Reed are patrolling together in a 2020 Ford Police Interceptor Patrol Vehicle equipped with a modern kennel and many other auxiliary items needed for a K-9 patrol thanks to a $23,286 grant the department received from the Clarinda Foundation in 2019. Brothers said the patrol vehicle should suit Officer Reed and Raiko for many years to come.

In his press release, the Chief said “If it had not been for the generosity of the Clarinda Foundation Board and the donors, this never would have been possible”, said Chief Brothers. “The Clarinda Foundation has been a tremendous supporter of the police department for many years. The Clarinda Foundation has been a fabulous partner in our public safety mission.,

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 39-year old Renee Ann Hanrahan, of Red Oak, was arrested today (Monday) at around 9:37-a.m., on a warrant for Fraudulent Practice/1st Degree. She was taken into custody at her home and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where her cash bond was set at $10,000.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers today (Monday), said two students who absconded from the Clarinda Academy at around 8:40-p.m., Sunday, are still at large, and are believed to be out of the area. This (Monday) morning at around 10:15- a.m., a woman reported to authorities that her 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser had been stolen from her driveway at 709 North 15^th  in Clarinda, sometime after 9-p.m., Sunday.

The vehicle was located this (Monday) morning, broken down  in rural Grundy County (Iowa), by the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department. The vehicle had been “bottomed out” and the oil pan torn off from the engine. The damage was estimated at $5,000.

(Johnston: SEOC) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and others provided an update late this (Monday) morning on the latest COVID-19 statistics for the past 24-hours. The Governor said there were:

• 113 NEW, positive cases of COVID-19 reported, for a total of 1,710.
• 1 NEW county (Cass) with a positive case, for a total of 82 out of 99.
• 981 Negative cases, for a total of 16,986 negative tests.
• The State Hygienic Lab has 3,565 test kits available.
• 142 people are currently hospitalized.
• 741 people have recovered from COVID-19, for a recovery rate of 43%.
• 2 deaths have been reported since the last update, for a total of 43. The latest deaths are: an elderly adult in Linn County, and an older adult in Muscatine County.

Reynolds said Iowa’s COVID-19 peak is expected to occur later this month. Until then, the number of positive cases and deaths, will continue to rise. Long term care facilities are also a concern for health officials, despite efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus in those facilities. Staff and residents of long-term care facilities, she said, continue to account for more than 10% of all positive COVID cases in Iowa, and 53% of all deaths in the State are residents of long-term care facilities.

The Governor updated the latest RMCC (Regional Medical Coordination Center) information, in her report. In southwest Iowa (Region 4):

• There were two patients hospitalized.
• One new patient was admitted over the past 245-hours.
• One patient is in an ICU. None were on ventilators.
• There are 254 in-patient beds available, 37 ICU beds, and 68 ventilators available, should they be needed.

Atlantic, IA—The Southwest Iowa COVID-19 Response Fund has granted funds to Cass County Public Health for the purpose of purchasing and delivering food to self-isolating individuals due to COVID-19. Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen, says “We have a number of volunteers and organizations partnering together to make sure all people who are isolating at home in Cass County will have access to food and food delivery. Our main goal is to keep everyone home and fed, no matter the income level.”

Individuals should contact Cass County Public Health Monday through Friday at 712-243-7443 with questions or for grocery and delivery needs. Olsen says “Some people may be able to pay in full for their groceries, but they need help with ordering and delivery. Or, some people may be able to only pay for a portion of their grocery needs. We’re happy to help in any way that we can. We want to thank all of the community members who have been already helping out, and we’re thankful for this grant that will support Cass County residents.”

The Southwest Iowa COVID-19 Response Fund is a partnership between the Iowa West Foundation, Pottawattamie County Community Foundation, and Council Bluffs Schools Foundation.

Here is the video feed for Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ Monday press briefing on COVID-19. KJAN will have live audio of the presser as well at about 11:00 a.m.

TAMA, Iowa (AP) — A beef processing plant in one of Iowa’s coronavirus hot spots has suspended production after several workers have become infected. National Beef announced that its Iowa Premium plant in Tama will be idled until April 20. The company said numerous employees had contracted COVID-19 and that others were exhibiting flu-like symptoms. It’s at least the second meat processing plant in Iowa to suspend operations after workers have become infected. Tyson Foods last week idled its Columbus Junction pork plant. Tama County has been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus in Iowa, with 86 confirmed cases and two deaths

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Experts working to develop models to help Iowa public health officials predict and manage the coronavirus pandemic are racing against time. A contract shows the Iowa Department of Public Health and the University of Iowa College of Public Health didn’t reach a formal agreement to work together to create Iowa-specific pandemic models until April 7. The agreement calls for the college to produce predictive models within two weeks of receiving the department’s coronavirus data, or on another mutually agreed upon schedule. The goal of the models is to help Iowa public health officials and Gov. Kim Reynolds predict the severity of the outbreak and make decisions about specific mitigation strategies.