DES MOINES, Iowa — Dozens of Iowans gathered inside a meeting room at the statehouse on Wednesday afternoon to hear state health officials give an update about the coronavirus.
“A new virus that makes people sick is serious, but we do work to prepare for these things," said Dr. Caitlin Pedati with the Iowa Department of Public Health.
She said that the threat of the virus remains low to the state of Iowa, but that health officials are communicating every day about how the disease is spreading and what precautions to take.
Right now, testing for the virus is being done at the Centers for Disease Control, but the state is waiting for a testing kit so they don't have to rely on the federal government to test.
The state is also updating all public health guidance materials to be COVID-19 specific.
"We want people to know that they can visit the IDPH website, that they can use our social media accounts and that they can reach out to local and public health if they have questions or concerns and that they can look to those resources for up to date and accurate information," Dr. Pedati said.
Pedati said that influenza is still a major threat to Iowans and that it remains on a higher level than the coronavirus. She said the spread of the flu is a model that can be used to show how a virus moves though a community.
Local 5 has obtained a copy of Iowa's highly infectious disease plan that outlines how the state and county leaders are prepared for a virus outbreak. According to the plan, the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics is capable of providing treatment to a confirmed case of a highly infectious disease.
In Des Moines, MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and Unity Point-Methodist are also prepared to provide testing and short-term treatment for a suspect cause of highly infectious diseases.
In terms of patient transport, Local 5 has also obtained information from the state about their preparedness to move a patient that might have a highly infectious disease.
"In the event an individual with suspected or confirmed highly infectious disease needs to be moved by ambulance, IDPH will communicate with all EMS service contacts to assure resource coordination and response from one of these services to complete the transfer," the documents read.
