Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber and School District Registered Nurse Laura Freund, earlier this week, sent out a notice to parents/guardians of students in the district, and staff, with regard to preparations for the COVID-19 (or, Corona virus).  At Wednesday evening’s school board meeting, Mr. Barber essentially reiterated the same information, and  reassured the Board “We’re not in a panic mode right now. We’re paying attention to all the updated news each time. Hopefully, we prepared for the worst but hope for the best-type situation. The next couple or three weeks we’ll kind of know if anything comes from that arena as well.”

In the letter sent Monday, Barber said that he and Freund attended a webinar last ween, where officials made recommendations for school districts.  The message was simple, and has not changed: Wash your hands, wipe down surfaces, don’t share cups, and remain home if you are not feeling well.  Barber said “These are the same procedures we have in place and will continue to do. Our maintenance crew uses foggers to disinfect our buildings. We will be using these two times in all buildings over the next two weeks; then after spring break reevaluate.”

During the webinar, individuals from the Iowa Department of Public Health were there to answer questions.  Mr. Barber and Freund encourage anyone interested in factual information and recommendations to go to the site.  In addition, the cdc.gov site is one that provides national information.

Barber and Freund have been in contact with Mr. O’Donnell with regard to the Florida trip to Disney World in two weeks.  At this time, they say, the trip will take place at planned, unless things change. We have some time to look at the Spanish trip in Costa Rica in July and will continue to monitor the situation.

In the letter also, Barber and Freund said “In Cass County, we are blessed with some committed individuals in Public Health and Emergency Management.  We are and will continue to be frequently conversing with them and make decisions based on a team approach.  Our goal is to continue to inform staff and parents and ensure everyone is in the know if recommendations change.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds says a 14th person who had recently taken a cruise in Egypt has tested positive for COVID-19. The news came late Wednesday afternoon on the same day that an Iowa City hospital CEO says a COVID-19 patient who took the same cruise was admitted and is in critical condition there.

University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics CEO Suresh Gunasekaran said all proper procedures and precautions were followed during the admission process so staff members were properly protected.

Both patients are among a group of 21 who went on a recent Egyptian cruise sponsored by Hills Bank in Hills, Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s three public universities announced Wednesday they would shift to only online classes beginning March 23 in an effort to keep students and faculty safe from the new coronavirus. The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa said they would only offer online classes after students return from next week’s spring break.

The online courses would continue for at least two weeks, with officials reassessing the situation during the week of March 30. Some private colleges are making similar moves. The president of Grinnell College has told students they must leave the campus by March 23. Classes will be offered online for the rest of the semester.

Atlantic, IA — Cass County Health System officials announced that effective immediately visitors are now limited to all CCHS facilities. This measure is being enacted to protect the health of patients, staff, volunteers, and visitors and to proactively limit the spread of COVID-19. These visitor limitations are the same precautions that are taken during peak influenza times, which is still active in Iowa.

Effective immediately:

• Visitors are now limited to 1 or 2 essential support persons per inpatient. Essential support persons must be 18 years of age or older and in good health.
• Volunteer services are temporarily suspended until further notice. This includes volunteers at the Information Desk, Gift Shop, and other locations throughout CCHS. These measures are being taken to protect the health of our volunteers.
• Non-essential meetings for the public, including Healthy U, are postponed until further notice.

The public is encouraged to continue practicing good hand hygiene; frequent handwashing with soap and water is the best first line of defense against the spread of viruses.

CCHS officials do not encourage the use of masks by healthy individuals. Masks should be used by individuals with respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, sneezing when they are within any CCHS facility for care. Individuals who are sick should also cover all coughs and sneezes in their elbow or tissues, and they should stay home until they are well.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man who was among a group of people trying to rob an armored vehicle outside of an Iowa bank was wounded in a shootout with the armored truck guards. The shooting happened Wednesday morning outside a Waterloo U.S. Bank branch in northeastern Iowa. Police and medics who arrived on the scene found a man with gunshot wounds who was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

His name has not been released. Police say an initial investigation showed that people in a vehicle tried to rob the armored car in the bank’s parking lot when the shootout began. Police later located the vehicle they believed was used in the attempted robbery. No arrests have been reported.