Even more businesses have been ordered closed as the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the state.
As of Sunday, April 12, there have been 1,587 confirmed cases COVID-19 in the state resulting in 41 deaths, nearly doubling the 886 cases and 22 deaths from the week prior. With the exception of two, all COVID-19 related deaths have been from people above the age of 60. Fifteen of the people that have died were above the age of 80.
Though fatalities have been nearly exclusively in the older or elderly population, all age groups are susceptible to the coronavirus. In Black Hawk County alone last week, at least one case was reported in every age group from child to elderly in the span of one testing cycle.
Of those that have been hospitalized from the virus, 674 are recovering while 129 are still in hospitals across the state.
On Monday, April 13, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a new proclamation ordering the closure of a new wave of businesses. Malls, tobacco and vaping stores, gaming and entertainment stores, social clubs, golf courses, bingo halls, bowling alleys, amusement parks, museums, libraries, zoos, skating rinks, playgrounds, and campgrounds are among the non-essential businesses that, if they weren't closed already, have been officially ordered closed through the end of April.
In addition, all unsolicited door-to-door sales have been prohibited.
While the spread of the virus has not yet crossed the threshold that Reynolds says would result in a full-blown shelter-in-place order, she reiterated the importance, and legal obligation, of abiding by the current social distancing measures. Noting that law enforcement has been instructed to ensure gatherings of more than ten are discouraged with violations that could result in a simple misdemeanor charge.
"All of the closures and restrictions outlined in the disaster emergency proclamations will be enforced, specifically the limitations on social gatherings," said Reynolds.
The call for a shelter-in-place order has persisted throughout the outbreak, but Reynolds has held firm in her currently established policy, which utilizes several metrics to determine if more closures are necessary. The governor's policy assigns point values between 0 and 3 to four metrics, such as the percentage of cases requiring hospitalizations or the number of outbreaks in long term care facilities. A shelter-in-place order would be considered if the total of the four metrics reaches 10 or higher. So far, the various regions in Iowa have ranged between 6 and 9 points.
Instead, Reynolds continues to call for Iowans to voluntarily stay home as much as possible.
"I need every Iowan to take responsibility for their health and the health of others," said Reynolds. "Let's all do the right thing, right now, to protect each other."
In the meantime, Reynolds has continued to relax regulations in the healthcare industry, particularly as the supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) reaches critically low levels. While the National Guard has been deployed to deliver PPE to all 99 counties, nationally the supply remains low. Non-essential medical procedures have been prohibited in order to reduce the need, but even then it may come to health care professionals needing to wash and reuse their protective gear if more cannot be acquired.
In a more positive development, last week it was announced that the first wave of small business relief grants are going out. The Iowa Economic Development Authority has received nearly 14,000 applications for assistance, amounting to more than $148 million in requests.
The four million dollar program cannot quite support that level of demand, but the governor has expanded the program with an additional $20 million, with the potential for more as funding becomes available. The first round of grants have gone out to around 500 restaurants, bars, and breweries that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"These businesses were among the first to close their normal operation and it is our goal to get them back up and running as soon as possible," said Reynolds.
As for schools, districts across the state are working on ways to continue to offer a learning experience to their students without coming back to class. Schools are to be closed through the remainder of April and it is possible that they will stay closed through the remainder of the school year.
Reynolds has promised to give administrators a two-week heads-up on whether schools will be allowed to re-open on May 1. Thus, an announcement should be made one way or another this week
