Governor closes schools for remainder of year

by Travis Fischer

The spread of the novel coronavirus reached its largest impact yet last week as Governor Kim Reynolds tightened social distancing rules in Northeast Iowa and announced schools closed for the remainder of the school year.

As of Tuesday, April 21, there have been 3,641 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, resulting in 83 deaths, nearly doubling the 1,899 cases and 49 deaths from the week prior. Of the fatal cases, eight middle aged adults (age 40-60) and two young adults (age 20-40) have died as a result of the virus. The majority of fatalities is among the older population, with 36 fatal cases among the elderly (above age 80) and another 37 older adults (age 60-80). Reynolds has stated that roughly half the deaths in Iowa have been of residents in long term care facilities. On Sunday it was reported that at least nine outbreaks in long term care facilities have been confirmed thus far, accounting for more than ten percent of the state’s cases. There are no new cases in Cerro Gordo county, leaving the county total standing at 14.

“We project that Iowa’s peak will occur later this month and until then our number of positive cases, and unfortunately our deaths, will continue to rise as well,” said Reynolds.

In total, 173 elderly, 554 older adults, 1,123 middle aged adults, 1,017 young adults, and 35 children have tested positive for the disease.

While cases can be found across the state, the worst outbreaks have been in Iowa’s RMCC Region 6, which covers much of Northeastern Iowa. Region 6 is the first region in the state to reach the Governor’s 10-point threshold of factors that would warrant a shelter-in-place order.

“As I have said from the start, I am committed to making data driven decisions regarding our response to COVID-19 in Iowa,” said Reynolds. “Today the data tells us that Region 6 has elevated to a level 10. This is due, in large part, to the long term care facility outbreaks, the severity of the illness, and the rate of hospitalization.”

On Thursday, April 16, Reynolds issued a new emergency proclamation specific to the counties in Region 6, limiting all social gatherings only to people that live in the same household and ordering

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people to remain six feet away from each other whenever possible.

Reynolds also ordered that employers take reasonable measures to facilitate their employees to work from home and otherwise take reasonable precautions to ensure the health of their employees otherwise.

Concern about workers in the food industry have been heightened as outbreaks have been found in meat packing plants in the state. In spite of temperature screening, distancing measures, and policies to keep potentially sick workers home, a surge in testing has discovered hundreds of positive cases in plant employees. These outbreaks have resulted in some closures, such as National Beef shutting down their Iowa Premium plant in Tama and Tyson Foods stopping production at their pork plant in Columbus Junction. Others remain open, for the moment, though testing and screening is increasing.

“The Department of Public Health has activated additional support teams to help these businesses and others conduct testing, contact tracing, and prevention,” said Reynolds.

On Friday, April 17, Reynolds also announced her decision that schools would not be re-opening in May and that school was effectively closed through the end of the school year.

The State of Iowa will be waiving the instructional time requirements for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, provided that school districts make an effort to offer continuous learning to their students.

While the buildings themselves may be closed, the lessons may not even stop for the summer. Districts will be required to submit a “Return to Learn” plan to the Iowa Department of Education by July 1, detailing plans for making up for the lost instructional time that may include summer school or other learning opportunities.

Looking on to the next school year, the state has also waived the requirement that school not begin before August 23, allowing districts greater freedom in determining the length of their 2020-21 school year.

“While I would like nothing more than to open up our schools and classrooms in May, we have to prioritize the health and safety of Iowans,” said Reynolds. “With our students at home, we must rely on continuous learning plans that are in place and prepare school districts for ‘Return to Learn’ in the fall.”

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