ANAMOSA – The Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) said Sunday, an officer was assaulted by an inmate at the Anamosa State Penitentiary at around 6:45 p.m., Saturday.  The officer was conducting an investigation interview with an inmate when the inmate unexpectedly struck the officer with a closed-fist strike to the face. Additional staff arrived to assist in restraining the inmate.

The officer that was struck in the face was found to have not suffered serious injury, but another officer that responded to the incident was taken by department vehicle to the local hospital for a possible foot injury. The inmate did not suffer any injuries.

The incident remains under investigation.

Iowa health officials say the state confirmed another 804 positive COVID-19 cases and four more deaths as of Sunday morning. Iowa currently has confirmed 1,315 COVID-19 deaths and 86,229 cases.  There were 5,437 new (negative) test results, for a total of 690,911. The Iowa Department of Public Health said it is adding the results of nearly 27,000 antigen tests to the state’s coronavirus website this weekend. The tests were conducted at long-term care facilities in September. Of the nearly 27,000 antigen test results included in the update, about 300 are positive for the virus.

The state on Sunday was reporting a 11.1% positivity rate in cases. Officials say 65,782 Iowans have recovered from the effects of the virus.  6,068 test results were received Saturday. Data from state health and education departments indicate the virus is circulating in schools and nursing homes. Multiple school districts are reporting hundreds of students in quarantine after positive cases were identified in a school.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases in each county, the number of persons recovered, and the total number of [deaths] (if any), since the pandemic began:

• Cass, 169 cases; 123 recovered; 2 deaths
• Adair, 72; 48; 1
• Adams, 33; 27; 0
• Audubon, 82; 37; 1
• Guthrie, 245; 170; 6
• Harrison County, 230; 157; 3
• Madison County, 220; 173; 3
• Mills County, 180; 125; 1
• Montgomery, 97; 82; 5
• Pottawattamie County, 2,140; 1,732; 39
• Shelby County, 267; 240; 1
• Union County,  137; 88; 3

Pottawattamie County also reports a total of 39 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. There are no additional deaths for the area counties, other than what has previously been reported. Hospital data statewide show: 343 in a hospital; 89 persons in an ICU, 57 people were admitted since Saturday, and 34 patients are on a ventilator. In western/southwest Iowa, 13 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, five are in an ICU, one was admitted Saturday, and no one was reported to be on a ventilator.

Long-Term Care Facility Outbreaks stand at 50, there are 1,051 positive cases of the virus among patients/staff at LTC’s, and 643 persons have recovered. A total of 685 people have died from COVID-19 at those facilities.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — New coronavirus cases in Iowa have jumped by 1,086 in the last 24 hours marking the second consecutive day of new cases exceeding 1,000. Four more people died pushing the state’s death toll from the virus to 1,303. Data from state health and education departments indicate the virus is circulating in schools and nursing homes. Multiple school districts are reporting hundreds of students in quarantine after positive cases were identified in a school.

The state also reports 50 nursing homes have a virus outbreak with more than 1,000 residents testing positive currently. Gov. Kim Reynolds says she is continuing for another week bar closures in Johnson and Story counties, where major state universities are located.

(Radio Iowa) – A new report finds Iowa has lost about half its licensed child care centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report by the non-profit Child Care Aware of America found the state’s licensed child care centers dropped from nearly 16-hundred in January to just over 800 in July. Spokeswoman Kristina Haynie says some closures may be temporary, while larger centers may be struggling with additional costs associated with new cleaning and child-staff ratio requirements.

“So, like group sizes, that used to be maybe nine children per classroom has gone down to half that,” she says, “but they can’t let go staff and so they’re paying the same number of staff, but serving fewer children.” The report found in-home providers are faring much better during the pandemic. Their numbers stayed about the same from January to July, actually adding four programs during the time period. Haynie says larger licensed centers may be struggling because they have more children and staff to manage.

“So many parents might be working from home or they’re unemployed, they might not be sending their children to child care at this point,” she says. “And so, centers if they don’t have that many children, it’s really not feasible for them to stay in business.” The report recommends investing more government support in child care and providing more resources and support for families and providers.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)