POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY, Iowa — The Pottawattamie County Health Department has confirmed its first local case of COVID-19.
The local CHI and Methodists health systems in the county, along with representatives from the health department, spoke at a press conference Monday evening and announced that there has been on "presumptive positive" test result in Pottawattamie County.
The 41-60 year old female, who was also a Panera Bread employee, had recently traveled to California and according to health officials, had underlying health risks. She was tested at a Nebraska facility.
"And we are in the process of taking the proper steps to investigate and ensure the public safety out there," said Dir. Matt Wyant of the Pottawattamie County Planning and Development. "The investigation for us began when we were notified of the possible positive on Saturday, we treated it as just as it would be just a positive. So the investigation began, we started backtracking all the different events. And so I think we're going to be okay on that."
RELATED: 3 Iowans test positive for COVID-19
On Sunday, Gov. Kim Reynolds along with members of her administration, revealed that three Iowans in Johnson County had tested positive for the virus. All three cases came from the same cruise in Egypt, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. All three are residents of Johnson County, and are not currently being treated in hospitals. Gov. Reynolds said they are being self-quarantined at home.
As of Monday afternoon, eight cases were pending at the state laboratory to come back with results of either positive or negative for the coronavirus.
A total of 40 Iowans have completed health monitoring under the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and the Iowa Department of Public Health.
The Iowa Department of Public Health says the individuals are all over 40 years of age - one is in the 41-60-year-old range, while the other two are aged somewhere between 61-80. Two of them had underlying health conditions.
The Iowa Department of Public Health does not recommend any special precautions to prevent contracting the virus. Instead, they say the best way to keep from getting it are the same measure you would take to prevent the flu: covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands frequently and staying home when you're sick.