A group of health experts and community leaders give a daily update on the community's response to coronavirus.
Here are the key points from the briefing:
- One person has died in Rock Island County from COVID-19.
- The patient was a man in his 60s who was hospitalized.
- There are nine new cases in Rock Island County, for a total of 60. Four of the patients are in the hospital.
- In Scott County there are 66 total cases.
- On Tuesday there were 14 new cases confirmed. Eight people are hospitalized. One person has been discharged and is recovering. One was never hospitalized.
- The county has seen 47 people recover.
- One person has passed away from COVID-19 in Scott County.
- As for manufacturing plants who have employees test positive for COVID-19, the health departments follow up with those businesses. They talk with them to see what their response plans are.
- Each case is different, and response plans depend on the circumstances of the patient's job. The health department will look into where the person worked, whether they were in close proximity to other workers and if they were showing symptoms while on the job.
- Overall, the businesses are encouraged to disclose information with all those who were potentially in contact with the worker.
- Ed Rivers says there are likely people around who have it, and may not need to be tested but can recover at home.
- He says following the state's guidelines can help you keep yourself and others well. Stay home as much as possible.
- Health departments don't have any authority to force businesses to respond any specific way. Businesses are encouraged to have regular communication with employees.
- Businesses who have workers affected by COVID-19 have regular communication with the health department. Officials offer guidance on cleaning and disinfecting and Rock Island County says the businesses they've worked with have been very receptive to their guidance.
- As far as people hopping state lines to golf, staff at Glen Creek reported a number of golfers from the Chicago area, so it's not just people from Rock Island County going over there.
- Ed Rivers says we know there's community spread and in some neighboring states, community spread is even higher.
- Governor Kim Reynolds advised that anyone who's been out of state should self-isolate for 14 days.
- Scott County golf courses are expected to align with recommendations from the state.
- When you look at a map of counties affected by COVID-19 in Iowa, you see that the eastern half is more impacted. Why is that?
- That's because Scott County is among the most populated areas, along with Linn County, Polk County, and Johnson County, so naturally you'd expect to see more cases in those areas. Johnson County was one of the first counties to start reporting cases.
- Health departments said the deaths in each Rock Island and Scott Counties show that COVID-19 is present in each community. Since people can have COVID-19 but show no signs of illness, it's important to take the proper precautions: cover your cough and sneeze, stay home, practice social distancing, and only go out for essential needs.
- Does Chicago play a role in cases popping up in the Quad Cities area, since we are less than three hours away?
- Health experts say it's difficult to know where cases originate from, but it's not good having Chicagoans travel to the Quad Cities and potentially spread the disease.
- Would a shelter in place order be more effective than the current restrictions for Iowa?
- Health experts say it's not abnormal for different states to respond different ways to societal issues, so this is nothing new. People in Iowa have been asked to stay at home unless there is an essential errand to run. So if people can still abide by the guidelines without it being the governor's decree.
- They reiterate that staying home and practicing social distancing is ultimately up to personal responsibility.
