DES MOINES, Iowa — With the looming threat of the United Kingdom COVID-19 variant reaching Iowa, White House officials are warning states of how fast it can travel from person-to-person.
A Jan. 10 White House Coronavirus Task Force report obtained by ABC News says the following: "Aggressive mitigation must be used to match a more aggressive virus."
Iowa is still in the red zone for both cases and test positivity. That means 101 or more cases per 100,000 people were confirmed during the week of the report (Jan. 2-8), and 10.1% or more tests came back positive.
The state has seen increases in cases and test positivity during the week of the report as well.
Polk, Scott and Linn counties reported the most cases over the last three weeks, representing 25% of reported cases in the state in that timeframe.
The report says 98% of Iowa's 99 counties have moderate or high levels of community transmission, with 85% reporting high levels.
From Dec. 28 through Jan. 3, 15% of nursing homes reported at least one resident case and 38% reported at least one staff case. 9% of nursing homes reported a resident death during that time.
"Without uniform implementation of effective face masking (two or three-ply and well-fitting) and strict physical distancing, epidemics could quickly worsen as more transmissible variants spread and become predominant," the report says.
The report also says messaging must be focused on proactive testing for people 40 years and younger. This is to prevent asymptomatic "silent" spread to their household members.
In the report, officials call for immediate testing and rapid infusion of monoclonal antibodies for those at risk for severe disease.
RELATED: Des Moines hospital sees less hospitalizations for patients taking monoclonal antibody treatment
The White House also strongly recommends creating young adult testing sites with BinaxNOW units to encourage rapid testing and help isolate positive individuals from at-risk individuals.
"Do not delay the rapid immunization of those over 65 and vulnerable to disease," the report states.
"No vaccines should be in freezers but should instead be put in arms now; active and aggressive immunization in the face of this surge would save lives."
The mitigation efforts put in place during November's surge worked, according to the report.
It helped to rapidly decrease hospitalizations and prevented deaths, but with this surge, officials are urging states to be aggressive with targeted testing.
Gov. Kim Reynolds recently loosened mitigation efforts, remove spectator restrictions at sporting and recreational activities. All must wear masks and stay six feet apart from others if they are not part of the same household.
Read the full report for Iowa below