Author: Theresa Rose

Preventing Outbreaks

Businesses should implement measures to enable social distancing as much as possible.  Consider staggering shifts to reduce worker population at any given time.  Stagger breaks to reduce staff interactions.  Review procedures to identify ways to increase the physical separation of staff.

Businesses should prioritize hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette among employees.  Businesses should provide or allow employees to wear their own homemade cloth facemasks.  Businesses should provide hand sanitizer or handwashing opportunities as frequently as possible.

Detecting Outbreaks

Screen all employees by taking their temperature and assessing for cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing or any other respiratory symptom at the beginning and end of each shift. For a screening algorithm visit: https://idph.iowa.gov/Portals/1/userfiles/7/bscreening%20algorithm%2003222020.pdf

Exclude all employees reporting fever or respiratory symptoms (these cases will be directed to stay home and isolate themselves from other people and animals in the home) until they:  Have had no fever for at least 72 hours (that is three full days of no fever without the use of medicine that reduces fevers) AND  Other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath have improved) AND  At least 7 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared. Exclusion criteria must be followed with all symptomatic employees, regardless of whether the testing is completed (even if the employee tests negative for COVID-19 infection).

Please report to the Iowa Department of Public Health when 10% or greater of your employees are reporting COVID-19 symptoms (including fever, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing, or any other respiratory symptom). Report to public health by filling out the survey at this link: https://redcap.idph.state.ia.us/surveys/?s=NRJ4FDMDPN

Managing Outbreaks

Coordinate with your occupational health provider to define a pathway to test symptomatic employees.  Public health will approve State Hygienic Laboratory testing for symptomatic employees during outbreaks.  The occupational health provider or employees’ personal health providers will be responsible for collecting the nasopharyngeal swab for testing and following-up for medical care as needed.

When employees test positive for COVID-19 infection, public health and occupational health will work jointly to investigate cases and identify the following contacts:  household contacts,  rideshare partners, and  co-workers with prolonged contact (within 6 feet of the case for at least 30 minutes). All of these contacts will be directed to stay at home and isolate themselves from other people and animals in the home for 14 days after the last known exposure to a person with COVID-19

Businesses should consider excluding high-risk employees when outbreaks are ongoing. High-risk employees would include:  People aged 65 years and older  People of all ages with underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, including: o People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma o People who have serious heart conditions o People who are immunocompromised  Many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications o People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥40) o People with diabetes o People with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis o People with liver disease

Business decisions to close, should be based upon workforce availability and the ability to follow the recommended measures outlined above.

* Outbreaks are defined as greater than 10% of employees ill with COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing, or other respiratory symptoms)

DES MOINES – Today, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has been notified of 146 additional positive cases for a total of 2,141 positive cases. There have been additional 660 negative tests for a total of 18,543 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs.

According to IDPH, an additional 7 deaths were also reported, 175 are currently hospitalized, and 987 Iowans have recovered.

The additional 7 deaths were reported in the following counties:

• Allamakee County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Linn County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Polk County, 1 adult, 1 older adult, 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Louisa County, 1 middle-age (41-60 years)
• Tama County, 1 elderly adult (81+)

The state of Iowa has released an updated dashboard on coronavirus.iowa.gov that will be updated daily to include comprehensive tracking of COVID-19 in Iowa. The new dashboard includes cases, deaths, and tests conducted in each county. The state is now providing demographic information that was not previously provided as well as Iowa’s epidemiological curve.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued updated Guidance for Pharmacies during the COVID-19 Pandemic in which the CDC makes the following new recommendations for pharmacies:

• Everyone entering the pharmacy should wear a face covering, regardless of symptoms. Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
• Pharmacists and pharmacy personnel should always wear a facemask while they are in the pharmacy for source control.
• Pharmacists should postpone and reschedule delivery of routine clinical preventive services, such as adult immunizations, which require face to face encounters.
• In pharmacies where there is a co-located clinic:
  • Direct clinic patients with respiratory illness to remain in their vehicle and contact the clinic via telephone.
  • If possible, provide a separate entrance for clinic patients.
  • Provide facemasks or cloth face coverings for patients, ideally prior to entering the store.

The Board will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updated information as it becomes available.

The Louisa County Department of Public Health today, Thursday, announced the first death associated with novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the county. The individual was a middle-aged adult age 41-60.

“We wish to extend our sympathy to this individual’s family,” said Louisa County Public Health Director Roxanne Smith. “Louisa County Public Health and all of our key partners throughout the county and state continue to work to limit the spread and impact of this virus in our communities.”

All residents should:

• Stay home as much as possible. Leave only for essential errands like groceries or getting medication. When you run these errands, send only one person from the household, if possible.
• Stay home when even mildly ill (the kind of illness that normally wouldn’t prevent you from your everyday activities)
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow/upper arm.
• Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

For up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit the IDPH webpage at https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus and follow the department on Facebook at @IowaDepartmentOfPublicHealth and on Twitter at @IAPublicHealth.

National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is April 12-18, 2020. The hardworking dispatchers and public safety telecommunicators serve as a vital link between community and fire, medical, and law enforcement agencies. It’s a time to recognize dispatchers – the men and women who work every day behind the scenes.

Henry County Sheriff Rich McName says the county has “seven wonderful dispatchers.”  Serving Henry County are Jill Benedict, Kim Henkle, Laura Ruby, Janae Body (PT), Christina Dress, Aspen Anderson, and Laura Roen. In total they have almost 60 years of combined experience with one over 20 and the newest one starting on April 13. They dispatch all E911, all ambulance, all fire, and all law enforcement except Iowa Department of Public Safety, in Henry County.  In 2019 they took over 24000 calls for assistance from our public and answered the telephone well over 50000 times.  Sheriff McNamee said he hopes the public appreciates them as much as law enforcement and emergency responders do.  Henry County Dispatchers are the lifeline for all emergency services.

As COVID-19 Case Counts Rise in Louisa County, Residents Asked to Continue Prevention Efforts

Louisa County has a total of 166 positive COVID-19 cases today, 37 of those cases have recovered from the illness. Of the 166 cases, 148 are associated with the outbreak at Tyson Foods, Inc. in Columbus Junction. Both the State and local health departments have been working closely with Tyson on increased testing efforts to identify positive cases and their contacts in order to reduce community spread associated with this outbreak.

While most of our cases are associated with this outbreak, it remains important for everyone to stay home as much as possible and to practice social distancing – this simply means to stay away from groups of people, and to keep a 6-foot distance from other individuals.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever (100.4 or greater) and shortness of breath. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should call your health care provider before going into the office. The provider may have special instructions for you and will determine if you should be tested.

All residents should:

• Stay home as much as possible. Leave only for essential errands like groceries or getting medication. When you run these errands, send only one person from the household, if possible.
• Stay home when even mildly ill (the kind of illness that normally wouldn’t prevent you from your everyday activities)
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow/upper arm.
• Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

For up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit the IDPH webpage at https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus  and follow the department on Facebook at @IowaDepartmentOfPublicHealth and on Twitter at @IAPublicHealth.