By Beacon Staff
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds had some good news Tuesday afternoon (June 23) regarding Iowa’s ongoing battle against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
She said the state is finally stocked with a 90-day supply of PPE (personal protective equipment) for frontline healthcare workers who need it.
“There were some days where we only had a 14-day supply,” she told The Burlington Beacon. “Now, we’re finally seeing that backlog start to pick up.”
After visiting the COVID-19 testing clinic in West Burlington on Tuesday morning, Reynolds traveled to Fort Madison to assist in the delivery of that equipment. Iowa Army National Guard soldiers, Lee County Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Cirinna and others helped unload the equipment outside of Fort Madison City Hall.
Reynolds learned during her West Burlington visit that 60 people a day utilize the drive-thru testing clinic at the Des Moines County Fairgrounds in. West Burlington. Half of those are through the voluntary Test Iowa program, and the rest are required pre-operation tests for patients undergoing surgery.
As always, Great River Health Systems staff at the clinic were clad in full PPE equipment and face shields as they administered nasal swabs. A few months ago, hospital workers were requesting homemade masks stitched by local volunteers to help make up for the PPE shortage.
More than 30,000 of those masks have been produced by volunteers in Burlington and the surrounding area.
Reynolds said her visit was a way to show appreciation for them, the National Guard, and everyone involved in the fight against COVID-19.
“People stepped up and helped provide the necessary PPE to help our frontline workers,” she said.
National Guard soldiers unloaded boxes of gowns, masks, gloves and other PPE equipment from a semi-truck trailer as Reynolds looked on. She noted that the 90 day supply is being distributed throughout the state.
Many of those orders had been previously hamstrung by multiple delays, she said.
“The national shortage was such an issue when we started with COVID-19,” she said.
Reynolds also noted that statewide positive case numbers continue to rise due to an increase in testing. According to the Iowa Department of Health’s website, 10 percent of those who have tested have come back positive.
Roughly one in 12 Iowans have been tested for coronavirus, which equates to 8.33 percent of the state population. Reynolds is among them, having been tested by nasal swab nine days in a row during the height of the pandemic. It was not a comfortable experience, she said, though a necessary one.
“The active rate is continuing to go down, and so are the number of hospitalizations.,” she said. “Iowans that are the most vulnerable — those that are 65 and older and those with underlying conditions — they still need to be careful. It’s in our communities, but for the bulk of the time, people are asymptomatic or it’s like a case of the mild flu.”
Des Moines County has recorded two coronavirus-related deaths so far, as has Lee County. The most recent Lee County death was reported by the county’s health department this past weekend. That death has yet to be tabulated by the state website, however, which still lists Lee County as having one COVID-19 fatality.
Lee County has reported 43 positive cases so far, 30 of which have recovered. Des Moines County has reported 78 cases, 62 of which have recovered.
Statewide, 26,396 Iowans have tested positive for the virus, and 16,706 of those have recovered. The state death toll stood at 689 Tuesday night.
Photo by Joy Mack
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds talks with Maj. General Ben Corell of the Iowa National Guard. Reynolds was visiting Fort Madison on Tuesday as the National Guard delivered personal protective equipment.