IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is defending her decision to reopen businesses despite a surge of coronavirus deaths, saying that a continued lockdown would come at a “social cost.”Restaurants, fitness centers, salons, and barber shops reopened statewide for the first time in two months. Some local officials said that Reynolds was reopening the state too soon, particularly in areas that still have high numbers of cases. They urged their citizens to exercise caution in determining whether to visit businesses and to wear facial coverings in public.

Reynolds announced that 18 more Iowans have died of the coronavirus, including 16 residents of long-term care facilities. Sixty-five people have died over the last four days, bringing the state’s total to 336.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, today (Friday) updated the State’s status on COVID-19. She said the DPH reported 374 new positive cases of COVID-19. Including the latest report, the statewide total of positive cases amounts to 14,049.  To date 93,556 Iowans have tested for COVID-19 [1 in 34 per capita), and 50%, or 6,561 have recovered. There have been 3,888 Negative test results for COVID-19.)

IDPH also reported 18 deaths, for a total of 336 deaths. 16 of the 18 deaths were among residents of LTC’s (Long-Term Care facilities). There are COVID-19 outbreaks in 35 of Iowa’s long-term care facilities. The number remains unchanged from Thursday. There are currently 387 Iowans hospitalized with the virus, with 130 listed in intensive care and 87 on ventilators. There were 23 patients admitted in the last 24 hours. IDPH reported 3,470 inpatient beds available, with 407 ICU beds available. There are currently 713 ventilators available.

Hospitalization numbers have continued to flatten or decrease over the last week. Governor Reynolds said also, that this weekend “Is the first time we won’t be delivering PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to counties across the State.”

The Governor said Iowan’s continue to made changes significant to their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Class of 2020. Many activities, including graduation, sports and other programs, were cancelled or postponed. She said many school districts have had to get creative to make this time of year special, including graduation. A special guest recorded a message for the Class of 2020. The Governor introduced Ringgold County native, and retired NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson, who broke several NASA records over a span of a decade and offered her advice to the graduating class.

Reynolds closed the press conference with her own advice for Seniors.

(She said she hopes this experience has taught them what matters most in life: “your health, your spirit, and the people you love.”)

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ Friday press conference on COVID-19. We will have live audio of the presser on KJAN as well. The press conference is set to begin at approximately 11:00 a.m.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health, Friday (today), reported 374 new positive cases of COVID-19. Including the latest report, the statewide total of positive cases amounts to 14,049. IDPH also reported 18 deaths, for a total of 336 deaths.   93,556 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19, and 6,561 have recovered. There are currently 387 Iowans hospitalized with the virus, with 130 listed in intensive care and 87 on ventilators. There were 23 patients admitted in the last 24 hours.

IDPH reported 3,470 inpatient beds available, with 407 ICU beds available. There are currently 713 ventilators available. Hospitalization numbers have continued to flatten or decrease over the last week. There are COVID-19 in 35 of Iowa’s long-term care facilities. The number remains unchanged from Thursday.

The Iowa Department of Public Health releases new COVID-19 statistics each day on this website.

Officials with the Pottawattamie County Public Health Department (PCPH) said today (Friday), “Country House,” a memory care facility in Council Bluffs, is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak which the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) defines as three or more residents in a long-term care facility testing positive for COVID-19. Although the Country House is not classified as a long-term care facility by the state of Iowa, PCPH is responding to the outbreak in the same way we would respond to an outbreak in a long-term care facility. PCPH is working closely with local partners, IDPH, and Country House to monitor the situation and provide guidance on containment and mitigation strategies.

Country House has conducted COVID-19 testing on all residents and staff members at the facility. As of May 15, ten residents and one employee have tested positive for COVID-19. PCPH will release additional details as they become available. Matt Wyant, with Pott. County Public Health, says “Country House adapted several COVID-19 mitigation measures early on, including restricting visitors, use of PPE, and screening staff at all shifts. Despite their precautionary efforts, the virus has regrettably been introduced to Country House.”

Marty Hug, Chief Operating Officer for Agemark says “First and foremost, our concern is the health and safety of our residents and our staff. As an organization, we took very proactive measures to protect all of our people – residents and staff alike. Right now, we have activated our emergency response procedures and our dedicated team of health care professionals is doing everything in their power to contain additional spread and is providing exceptional care for our residents.”

You can find more information regarding Country House’s COVID-19 response at https://www.agemark.com/covid-19/.

(Radio Iowa) — As more businesses are reopening statewide today (Friday), leaders of Iowa’s most populous county are asking residents to wear masks anytime they’re in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Matt McCoy, chair of the Polk County board, recognizes that’s a stronger recommendation than from the state health department, which suggests wearing a mask when you can’t keep distance from others.  “Polk County cases continue to rise and it’s critical to continue practicing these precautions,” McCoy says.

Polk County has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. The county health department says a recent increase in cases is tied to a combination of community spread and outbreaks at long-term care and manufacturing facilities.

(By Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — The head of Iowa’s largest supermarket chain says market trends show consumers began eating the majority of their food outside of their home three years ago. HyVee C-E-O Randy Edeker says grocers were adjusting to that new reality when the COVID-19 crisis hit. The first two weeks were rough, he admits. “It was like drinking from a fire hose and making hundreds of decisions that we’d never faced before,” Edeker says.

Edeker, who became chairman of F-M-I — the Food Industry Association in January, says crisis often sparks innovation. “A lot of our grocery stores have been buying food from restaurants and selling it out of the stores…Out of this crisis will come good in the end.” He made his comments last Friday when he hosted the vice president at Hy-Vee headquarters in West Des Moines. Rodney McMullen, the C-E-O of Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the country, was there as well. The company is not only testing its own employees, it’s now in the testing business in 15 states.

“One of the things that we’ve done with our own associates is partner with Microsoft to create a bot where our associates can go through to see whether they should be tested,” McMullen said, “and all our 462,000 associates have access to that.” There are 28-hundred Kroger stores in the U.S.