(Des Moines)– According to Iowa’s COVID-19 website, as of 10 a.m. Thursday there have been 15 more COVID-19 deaths bringing the state’s total to 500.
The Iowa Department of Public Health is also reporting 246 new positive COVID-19 cases in the state, bringing the statewide total to 18,502. Of those cases, state health officials say 10,148 of them have recovered.
Meanwhile, Sara Riesetter of The Iowa Department of Public Health announced the source of a major outbreak in Buena Vista county during Governor Kim Reynolds press conference that was held this (Thurs.) morning…
“Today we have confirmed an outbreak at the Tyson Pork Processing plant in Storm Lake where 555 of the 2,517 employees tested have had a positive result reported so far. As always our department will continue to provide Iowans with information about actions you can take to stay healthy and informed.”
The number of positive cases in Buena Vista has soared in recent days and stood at 700 as of late this morning. Several other northwest Iowa counties have experienced increases in cases over the past day or so, including Dickinson which has seen its number grow to 16; Emmet county which is now at 12; and Pocahontas county with 10 positive cases. Other counties in the area were unchanged.
On another matter, the Governor today (Thurs.) announced some additional assistance being made available to food banks throughout Iowa…
“COVID-19 has been one of those times when we’ve seen food insecurity skyrocket. More Iowans than ever have required food assistance and Iowa farmers have stepped up to help through programs like Pass The Pork. Today I am pleased to announce that I have also allocated additional funding through the CARES state funding to sustain and grow this program, the Pass The Pork, and provide additional relief to our food banks who are working so hard to meet the needs of Iowans experiencing food insecurity during these unprecedented times.”
And when it comes to the impact on Iowa ag producers, State Ag Secretary Mike Naig announced a program to assist those who have been forced to euthanize animals…
“When euthanization is the only option though, producers consult with their herd veterinarians, they develop plans to humanely euthanize animals following American Veterinary Association guidelines, and dispose of those carcasses in an environmentally safe way. So starting this week the Iowa Department of Agriculture launched the Disposal Assistance Program to provide financial resources to pork producers to properly dispose of animals. Producers must provide a confirmation from their veterinarian of an impending welfare issue if action isn’t taken and provide a proof of proper disposal to receive funding. And that disposal assistance will be made available to producers through atleast three rounds of funding throughout the next several weeks. The application for the first round is open now and it will close tomorrow. We are also developing criteria to allow producers that have already euthanized animals from May 1st to today to also apply for assistance through this program. We will release more information on that in the coming days.”
Applications can be found at iowaagriculture.gov/idap or call 515-281-5321.
