DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Public Health said Wednesday that most Iowa hospitals are prepared to handle COVID-19 patients, should they need to.
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center gave Local 5 a tour of their flex unit, a hospital wing designated to handle infectious diseases since 2016.
It was established after the Ebola outbreak, which lasted from 2014-2016.
"One of the most important things is that we need to identify someone who has COVID-19 or a person who might be under investigation is we need to get them away from people and family members and put them in this type of isolation,” MercyOne Medical Director of Infectious Diseases Dr. Ravi Vermuri said.
MercyOne Des Moines’ flex unit has two negative pressure rooms, which are specifically designed to isolate patients that are at risk of spreading disease.
Dr. Caitlin Pedati, state medical director and epidemiologist at the Iowa Department of Public Health, said right now, there’s no immediate threat of COVID-19 in Iowa.
“Right now, the general public is not at risk of this virus because it's not circulating in our communities,” Dr. Pedati said.
Dr. Pedati stressed there are three things people can do to prevent the possible spread of any illness, not just COVID-19:
- Wash your hands
- Cover your cough
- If you're sick, stay home