On April 22nd, Wright County Public Health received the COVID-19 nasal pharyngeal tests back from the 867 employees from the Prestage Foods of Iowa processing plant in Wright County. These tests indicated a snapshot of persons active with COVID-19. Employees with positive tests were then requested to self-isolate to control the spread. All 25 positive cases were asymptomatic (showing no signs at the time of testing) and were residents of 5 different counties, 18 of which were from Black Hawk County. The Wright County Board of Supervisors and the Wright County Board of Health requested additional testing for antibodies to further assist in the evaluation regarding immunity. The State of Iowa has agreed to provide the supplies for this testing.
“Now that we have our baseline results, we have the opportunity to look at and identify vulnerabilities in our community and region,” said Sandy McGrath, RN, Wright County Epidemiology. Starting this week, Wright County Public Health along with Iowa Specialty Hospital and Clinics will be offering COVID-19 antibody testing to all Prestage employees along with a number of Medical and First Responders in Wright County.
Our goals are:
1. Reveal those who may have previously had COVID-19 and recovered.
2. Reveal those who have not had COVID-19 to recognize any ongoing vulnerability.
3. Provide Public Health officials a better idea of community spread and immunity while we move through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Governor Reynolds indicated yesterday that we are in the process of opening up some of our counties in Iowa on May 1st. Please refer to governor.iowa.gov/press-
