COVID-19 update: Grundy County up to 11 cases

GRUNDY COUNTY- As confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus continue to surge statewide, Grundy County now has 11 according to the latest update from the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). 

 

Per state and federal regulations, identities of the individuals who have tested positive are not being publicly released, and there are no deaths in Grundy County at press time. Grundy County Public Health Program Coordinator Katie Thornton-Lang is continuing to emphasize mitigation techniques while closely monitoring the situation as cases in the county continue to increase. 

 

“COVID is community spread and thought to spread mainly from person-to-person. This can mean it can spread between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet), and through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, which can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. It may also be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads,” she said. “All of this is why it is so important to practice the mitigation and hygiene measures we’ve been speaking about for the past couple of months: social distancing and following the 3 C’s (cover your cough/sneeze, clean your environment and hands, contain the illness by staying home as much as possible).”

 

GCPH and the county’s Emergency Management Agency have also been in contact with management at area meatpacking plants where major outbreaks have occurred to provide education and PPE guidance in partnership with Grundy County Memorial Hospital and Allen Hospital in Waterloo. 

 

Neighboring counties remain some of the most concentrated areas for new cases in the state, and Black Hawk County, with 941 positive cases and 12 deaths, now has the single highest number of confirmed cases in Iowa. Governor Kim Reynolds recently announced plans to reopen much of the state (77 of 99 counties) by Friday, and Grundy County would be allowed to reopen as part of the order. Restaurants, malls, fitness centers and retail stores will