The Pottawattamie County COVID-19 Response Task Force met on Saturday, March 14th to discuss the data and recommendations presented at both the State of Iowa’s and Nebraska’s press conferences. Officials say “Being part of a larger metro area, we are evaluating all of the effects of community spread of the COVID-19 virus so that we can take proactive steps to flatten the expected curve. The task force will continue to meet daily to discuss the rapidly evolving situation and will provide updates as they become available.

As community spread has been identified in the Omaha metro area, the following guidance for community spread mitigation is vital.

Community: A group of people living in a defined geographic area, who are linked by social ties and engage in joint activities, such as work or recreation.
Community Spread: Occurs where individuals have been infected with the virus in an area and cannot specifically identify the source of the infection, or do not know how or where they became infected (e.g., cannot tie the illness to a specific event, like a cruise).
Community Spread = 1-2 identified community spread cases
● Individuals sixty years of age and older with underlying conditions should stay at home and avoid gatherings or other situations of potential exposures, including travel to affected areas.
● Implement personal protective measures. Encourage people to:
○ Stay home when sick
○ Wash their hands
○ Cover coughs and sneezes
● Clean frequently touched surfaces daily
● Reduce activities (e.g., group congregation, religious services), especially for organizations with individuals with underlying health conditions.
● Ensure hand hygiene supplies are readily available inbuildings.
● Cancel large gatherings (e.g., >250 people, the specific threshold is at the discretion of the
community) or move to smaller groupings.
● Consider personal social distancing measures: avoid large gatherings (e.g., assemblies), limit the number of attendees per gathering, and consider distance or working remotely or online learning when possible.
● Encourage staff to telework (when feasible), particularly individuals at increased risk of severe illness.
● Limit non-essential work travel and gatherings.
● Follow CDC guidance regarding school closures. If a school based case is identified, implement short-term suspension for school cleaning and contact tracing. Alter schedules to reduce mixing (e.g., stagger recess, entry/dismissaltimes).
● Cancel extracurricular activities as needed.
● Find local information on COVID-19 and local trends of COVID-19 cases at the IDPH web page.
Underlying Health Conditions: Health conditions that may increase the risk of serious COVID-19 include individuals with:

● Blood disorders (e.g., sickle cell disease or on blood thinners).
● Chronic kidney disease as defined by your doctor. Patient has been told to avoid or
reduce the dose of medications because of kidney disease, or is under treatment for
kidney disease, including receiving dialysis.
● Chronic liver disease as defined by your doctor. (e.g., cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis) Patient
has been told to avoid or reduce the dose of medications because liver disease or is
under treatment for liver disease.
● Compromised immune system (immunosuppression) (e.g., seeing a doctor for cancer
and treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation, received an organ or bone marrow
transplant, taking high doses of corticosteroids or other immunosuppressant
medications, HIV or AIDS).
● Current or recent pregnancy in the last twoweeks.
● Endocrine disorders (e.g., diabetes mellitus).
● Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders).
● Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary
artery disease).
● Lung disease including asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (chronic
bronchitis or emphysema) or other chronic conditions associated with impaired lung
function or that require homeoxygen.
● Neurological and neurologic and neurodevelopment conditions [including disorders of
the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve, and muscle such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy
(seizure disorders), stroke, intellectual disability, moderate to severe developmental
delay, muscular dystrophy, or spinal cord injury.

Reminder: If you have symptoms of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) call your physician’s office ahead of your arrival. More resource information can be found at https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery