IOWA, USA — Getting Iowans tested for COVID-19 continues to be one of Gov. Kim Reynolds' top priorities as she considers loosening more coronavirus restrictions throughout Iowa.
Reynolds noted that she will be making an announcement during her Tuesday press conference on easing additional restrictions statewide.
The governor also laid out what her administration has all done to make sure that those who need a test get one, especially for essential workers.
Eastern Iowa was the first area of Iowa to be impacted by the virus, especially Linn and Johnson Counties.
"Over the last two weeks we've seen both counties stabilize and gradually trend downward, which is a good sign that the virus activity is decreasing and becoming more manageable," Reynolds said.
She included that her team has seen similar trends in Louisa, Washington and Black Hawk counties.
The state took proactive measures to mitigate the spread of the virus so the health care system wouldn't be overwhelmed, according to Reynolds.
A strike team was sent to an outbreak at the Tyson Food Inc. processing plant in Columbus Junction. Testing supplies were also sent when another outbreak was suspected at the Tyson plant in Waterloo.
A TestIowa site was also opened in Waterloo.
In total, 9,400 employees at 14 different facilities across Iowa have been tested for COVID-19. Reynolds said another 3,000 may be tested this week.
Long-term care facilities have been hit hard by the pandemic, and Reynolds' administration continues to do their part to keep Iowa's most at-risk population as safe as possible.
As of Monday, Reynolds reported 1,324 staff and residents from 115 long-term care facilities have been tested for the virus.
"Expanding testing in a targeted way such as this helps us confirm how the virus is spreading and while it drives our positive case count up for the short term," Reynolds said. "More importantly it informs us how to effectively manage virus activity for the long term."
WATCH: Gov. Kim Reynolds' full press conference for May 11, 2020
Reynolds also included that Regional Medical Coordination Centers (RMCCs) in the fifth and sixth regions are now stabilizing and trending downward for the virus. Hospital resources are in good supply as well.
However, Reynolds did note that virus activity in central and western Iowa is increasing, with Polk County having the highest number of cases in the state. She also mentioned that virus activity has increased in the Sioux City area as well as Crawford County.
Another TestIowa site was opened in Crawford County on Saturday to test essential workers.
"We know that virus activity will exist in our communities until a vaccine is available, but through expanded and targeted testing case investigation and tracing, and by continuing to take preventive measures to protect our own health and the health of others, I believe that we can and will be able to contain and manage the virus and balance the health of Iowans with the health of our economy," Reynolds said.
Reynolds praised TestIowa for opening seven sites in just three weeks, however she was informed that some samples were damaged and couldn't be processed.
"While it's not uncommon for a small percentage of samples with any type of test to become damaged, that doesn't make it any less disappointing to those impacted," she said. "And so, of course, we want to apologize to those Iowans affected and encourage them to be retested."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Iowa would be one of six states receiving remdesivir, a COVID-19 treatment that was approved for emergency use by the FDA.
Iowa received 10 cases with 40 vials in each over the weekend. The Iowa Department of Public Health will distribute the treatment.
RELATED: VERIFY: What is remdesivir?
Reynolds said her team continues to look at trends to determine how to reopen the state. Recent data from the IDPH shows increasing case numbers over the last week, which is why Iowa is one of the only states receiving remdesivir.
Sarah Reisetter with the IDPH said Reynolds' team spoke over the phone with leaders from HHS's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) last week to discuss why Iowa is getting the treatment.
"Our understanding is that ASPR did some analysis based on current case counts and they looked at areas of the country where case counts had increased over the last seven day period from the time they were looking at that," Reisetter explained.
"They had identified case counts in one part of our state as increasing and so that's our understanding of how they made the initial decisions about where those initial shipments were going to go."
Reynolds also announced that she will be following "modified quarantine plans" after her visit to the White House last week.
"As you know, last Wednesday I was at the White House at the invitation of the president to discuss Iowa's response to COVID-19," Reynolds began.
On Friday, Reynolds joined Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa for a meeting with religious leaders and a round table discussion on the importance of the food supply chain.
That's when Reynolds was notified that Pence's press secretary tested positive for the virus. While the staff member was present during her visit, Reynolds assured Iowans that she had no direct contact with her.
Food insecurity during the pandemic has also been an issue, according to Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg. That's why the Feeding Iowans Task Force was established.
The Iowa National Guard was assigned to assist food banks with staff and logistics support during this time. They've been running daily missions organizing mass distribution events, packing boxes and distributing food from the food banks to food pantries across Iowa.
"But the efforts go beyond the National Guard," Gregg said.
An example of this is AmeriCorps workers receiving new assignments after their original projects were cancelled or changed by the pandemic. A total of 311 AmeriCorps members have been reassigned to COVID-19 response, according to Gregg.
They've been sent to food insecure places like the River Bend Foodbank in Davenport and the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo.
Gregg said they've provided over 8,600 hours of assistance already. Over 156,000 pounds of food have been distributed by these workers.
Starting next week, 70 more AmeriCorps workers will fill summer positions focusing on recovery efforts with food insecurity all across the state.
For more information on these positions, visit volunteeriowa.org.
The task force has also partnered with FFA chapters across the state to assist in food related volunteering.
"With supply chain crunches in the news, we've also been working on creative ways to develop our own little mini supply chains focused on feeding those in need," Gregg said.
An example of this is the "Pass the Pork" initiative. This is the program in which farmers donate pigs, which are processed at local meat lockers. Over $100,000 has been donated to help pay for the processing, storage and distribution of the product.
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