The original item was published from 7/30/2020 2:20:25 PM to 8/7/2020 12:00:01 AM.

News Flash

COVID-19

Posted on: July 30, 2020

[ARCHIVED] Local COVID-19 Update, July 30, 2020

Dubuque County and Dubuque Named ‘Red Zones’ for COVID-19 Spread; 33 New Cases and Two Deaths in Dubuque County, 649 New Cases and 10 Deaths Statewide

Dubuque County and Dubuque Named ‘Red Zones’ for COVID-19 Spread

Both Dubuque County and the city of Dubuque were identified as “red zones” for elevated dangers of spreading COVID-19, according to the latest report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Iowa is also listed as one of the “red zone” states in the report.

The report identifies “red zones” as “those core-based statistical areas (CBSAs) and counties that during the last week reported both new cases above 100 per 100,000 population, and a diagnostic test positivity result above 10 percent.”

Dubuque County is one of eight Iowa red zone counties and the city of Dubuque is one of three red zone metro areas.

The report states Iowa is in the red zone for cases, indicating more than 100 new cases per 100,000 population last week, and is in the yellow zone for test positivity, indicating a rate between 5-10 percent. It says Iowa has seen stability in new cases and an increase in testing positivity over the past week. The following three counties had the highest number of new cases over the past three weeks: 1. Polk County, 2. Scott County, and 3. Dubuque County. These counties represent 36.9 percent of new cases in lowa.

The report includes recommendations for red zone counties/communities:

Recommended Public Messaging:

Wear a mask at all times outside the home and maintain physical distance.
Limit social gatherings to 10 people or fewer.
Do not go to bars, nightclubs, or gyms.
Use takeout or eat outdoors socially distanced.
Protect anyone with serious medical conditions at home by social distancing at home and using high levels of personal hygiene, including hand washing and cleaning surfaces.
Reduce your public interactions and activities to 25 percent of your normal activity.

Recommendations for Public Officials:

Close bars and gyms, and create outdoor dining opportunities with pedestrian areas
Limit social gatherings to 10 people or fewer.
Institute routine weekly testing of all workers in assisted living and long-term care facilities. Require masks for all staff and prohibit visitors.
Ensure that all business retailers and personal services require masks and can safely social distance.
Increase messaging on the risk of serious disease for individuals in all age groups with preexisting obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus, and recommend to shelter in place.
Work with local community groups to provide targeted, tailored messaging to communities with high case rates, and increase community-level testing.
Recruit more contact tracers as community outreach workers to ensure all cases are contacted and all positive households are individually tested within 24 hours
Provide isolation facilities outside of households if positive individuals can’t quarantine successfully.

The report includes the following recommendations for all of Iowa:

Continue to promote social distancing and wearing of cloth face masks when outside the home, especially in indoor environments and in counties with high ( >100 cases /100K population) or increasing case rates.
Protect those in nursing homes and long-term care facilities by testing all staff each week and requiring staff to wear face masks while on duty.
Continue to identify and aggressively investigate outbreaks early, especially in localities with increasing transmission and large populations. Intensify contact tracing, quarantine of contacts, and isolation for documented or suspected cases.
Meatpacking plants and other crowded workplaces should ensure social distancing, the wearing of face masks, and regular testing. Workplaces should implement clear protocols for early and thorough case investigations and contact tracing.
Increase volume of testing and move to community-led testing in localities with elevated or increasing transmission. Consider pooled testing as directed below to increase access and reduce turnaround times.
In localities with seven-day average test positivity greater than 10 percent, close bars and gyms, require strict social distancing in restaurants (restrict indoor dining and promote outdoor dining), and restrict gatherings to fewer than 10 people.

Read the full report at https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/states-report-virus-response-july-26/e241189157b34378/full.pdf The information on Iowa begins on page 121

33 New Cases and Two Deaths in Dubuque County, 649 New Cases and 10 Deaths Statewide

Positive Cases
Between 11 a.m. yesterday and 11 a.m. today, the IDPH reported 33 new positive cases of COVID-19 in Dubuque County, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the county to 1,431.

Statewide, 649 additional cases were reported in that same time frame, giving Iowa a total of 43,844 positive cases.

Deaths
Two additional deaths were reported in Dubuque County since 11 a.m. yesterday, increasing the county total to 28.

Ten additional deaths were reported statewide, increasing the state death total at 854.

Testing
As of 11 a.m. today, the IDPH website reported that 19,073 Dubuque County residents have been tested, up 212 from yesterday. The county’s overall positive test rate is 7.4 percent and one in five Dubuque County residents has been tested.

469,606 Iowans have been tested, an increase of 5,672 since 11 a.m. yesterday. The state’s overall positive test rate is 9.3 percent and one in seven Iowa residents has been tested.

Hospitalizations & Recoveries
According to the IDPH, the number of Dubuque County residents reported hospitalized due to COVID-19 as of July 28 was 23, an increase of one from the previous day.

237 Iowans are hospitalized due to COVID-19, a decrease of nine from yesterday.

Statewide, 31,747 Iowans have recovered (533 more than reported yesterday), including 612 Dubuque County residents (32 more than yesterday).

Long-Term Care Facility Outbreaks
According to the IDPH, there are 22 long-term care facilities in Iowa with COVID-19 outbreaks as of 11 a.m. today, one more than reported yesterday.

There is currently one long-term care facility outbreak in Dubuque County. Luther Manor Grand Meadows in Asbury has three residents who tested positive for COVID-19.

For the most current information on COVID-19, visit https://coronavirus.iowa.gov. For COVID-19 information specific to Dubuque County, visit www.dubuquecounty.org/COVID19