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Doctor says shelter in place order could stem spread of COVID-19

Dr. Megan Srinivas says rural Iowa could be put at a higher risk if people are not required to stay indoors.

With COVID-19 cases now confirmed in 30 Iowa counties, Gov. Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Public Health have decided that a shelter in place order is not necessary at this time.

For some medical professionals, they believe requiring Iowans to stay inside might be exactly what's needed to stop the spread.

"Even if you're only having that contact with one, two, five people, that's enough to spread it to those people and they spread it to their five people and we see it propagating that way," said Dr. Megan Srinivas with Community Health Center of Fort Dodge. "So rural America is not protected from this. We need to take all the precautions as well."

RELATED: COVID-19 live updates: Iowa National Guard delivers medical equipment to 5 counties

States like California, Washington, Wisconsin and Hawaii have issued orders for residents to stay at home unless absolutely necessary..

"If we say shelter in place now, hedge it off before we really star seeing an explosion of cases, we can slow that spread," Dr. Srinivas said. 

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