COUNT WATERLOO MAYOR QUENTIN HART AMONG MORE THAN 147 THOUSAND IOWANS WHO HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19. HART SHARED BASIC DETAILS OF THAT DIAGNOSIS DURING MONDAY’S VIRTUAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING. HE NOTED THAT HIS SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY MILD AND HAVE NOT INCLUDED ANY FEVER. HART HAS BEEN WORKING FROM HOME AND HOLDING ONLINE MEETINGS. DURING MONDAY’S SESSION, COUNCIL MEMBERS VOTED TO EXTEND THE CITY’S MASK MANDATE INTO THE FIRST SEVERAL WEEKS OF 2021.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE COVID-19 RESPONSE IN WATERLOO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THE DISTRICT’S PLAN ALLOWS SCHOOL LEADERS TO TAKE DIFFERENT STEPS IN DIFFERENT BUILDINGS. WATERLOO SCHOOLS SPOKESPERSON TARA THOMAS TALKED ABOUT WHAT THE DISTRICT WEIGHS WHEN IT COMES TO CORONAVIRUS DECISIONS. SOME DISTRICTS ARE TAKING THOSE STEPS WHERE COVID POSITIVITY RATES ARE HIGH AND SCHOOL ABSENCES ARE ALSO RISING.
SPEAKING OF STUDENTS, THE NORTHEAST IOWA FOOD BANK SAYS SCHOOLS IN AND AROUND BLACK HAWK COUNTY COLLECTED ENOUGH RESOURCES TO ACCOUNT FOR MORE THAN 107 THOUSAND MEALS AS PART OF THE ORGANIZATION’S ANNUAL STUDENT FOOD DRIVE. THE EFFORT LASTED THROUGH MUCH OF OCTOBER AND WRAPPED UP AT THE END OF LAST WEEK. THE FOOD BANKS SAYS VALLEY LUTHERAN, UNION, AND CEDAR FALLS HIGH SCHOOLS WERE THE TOP PERFORMERS IN SEPARATE CLASSES DETERMINED BY SCHOOL SIZE.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY LIKELY TO BE A SIX-WEEK EXTENSION, BUT WATERLOO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS CAST FORWARD THE COMMUNITY’S FACE COVERING RESOLUTION BY AN ADDITIONAL 12 WEEKS. THE DECISION DURING MONDAY’S COUNCIL MEETING MEANS THE MANDATE WILL LAST THROUGH ALL OF JANUARY. WATERLOO FIRST APPROVED A FACE COVERING PROCLAMATION IN AUGUST; MONDAY’S LATEST EXTENSION CAME AS CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS CONTINUE TO CLIMB. ALSO DURING MONDAY’S MEETING, WATERLOO MAYOR QUENTIN HART TOLD COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT HE HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19. YOU’LL HEAR FROM HART TOMORROW DURING THE 10 O’CLOCK HOUR OF KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL.
WATERLOO SCHOOLS SPOKESPERSON TARA THOMAS SAYS THE RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC MAY HAVE LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION IN THIS COUNTRY. THOMAS WAS A GUEST THIS MORNING DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL; HEAR THE FULL INTERVIEW AT KXEL.COM.
AT THE STATE PRISON IN ANAMOSA, THERE ARE 485 CORONAVIRUS CASES AMONG AN INMATE POPULATION OF NOT QUITE ONE THOUSAND. OUTBREAKS ARE ALSO BEING REPORTED AT CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN CLARINDA AND ROCKWELL CITY. IN TOTAL 1,145 INMATES AND 103 STAFF MEMBERS ARE POSITIVE IN THE STATE’S PRISONS. NEARLY HALF OF PRISON STAFFERS WITH COVID-19 ARE BASED IN ANAMOSA. AS OF LATE LAST WEEK, IOWA CORRECTIONS OFFICIALS WERE ONLY REPORTING AROUND 600 CORONAVIRUS CASES IN PRISONS. MORE THAN 21 THOUSAND TESTS HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED THIS YEAR TO THOSE WITH TIES TO IOWA’S PRISON SYSTEM.
SOME IOWA SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE CANCELING CLASSES IN THE SHORT TERM AND OTHERS ARE ASKING TO SHIFT ONLINE AS CORONAVIRUS INFECTION RATES RISE AND ABSENCES INCREASE. IN WATERLOO, SCHOOL OFFICIALS SAY THEY ARE SEEING DIFFERENT TRENDS. LAST WEEK, THE DISTRICT NOTED THAT ABSENTEEISM IS FRACTIONAL. THIS MORNING, TARA THOMAS TALKED ABOUT THE DISTRICT’S EFFORTS TO UNDERSTAND HOW COVID-19 IS MOVING. HEAR MORE FROM THOMAS’ APPEARANCE THIS MORNING DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL IN NEXT HOUR’S KXEL NEWSCAST.
MEANWHILE, THE BLACK HAWK COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT DESCRIBED THE CHALLENGE OF KEEPING UP WITH CONTACT TRACING AS THE NUMBER OF POSITIVE COVID-19 CASES RAPIDLY MOUNTS. IN A STATEMENT RELEASED YESTERDAY, BLACK HAWK COUNTY HEALTH SAID IT IS EXPERIENCING DELAYS IN ITS CONTACT TRACING PROGRAM. THE DEPARTMENT IS TRYING TO INCREASE CAPACITY, BUT ENCOURAGED PEOPLE WITH SYMPTOMS – OR LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSEHOLD WITH THOSE WHO HAVE THEM – TO STAY HOME. HEALTH OFFICIALS ALSO CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE FACE COVERINGS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND SIMILAR STEPS TO REDUCE TRANSMISSION.
AS SNOW FALLS IN SOME PARTS OF IOWA TODAY, AGRICULTURE OFFICIALS ARE NOTING THAT MODERATE AUTUMN WEATHER HELPED HARVEST PROGRESS. MONDAY’S USDA REPORT SHOWED 98 PERCENT OF SOYBEANS ARE IN. CORN IS 94 PERCENT HARVESTED. SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA IS THE AREA WITH THE MOST FIELD WORK REMAINING THIS HARVEST SEASON.
