Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds updated the COVID-19 numbers Thursday morning at 11:00. 176 new cases have been reported for a total of 3,942 cases. 6 new deaths were reported and 1,492 Iowans have recovered. 13% of tests in Iowa come back positive for the coronavirus compared with the 18% national average according to the CDC.
Local COVID-19 figures have been updated. Bremer County now has 34 cases and sadly has had its first death. The deceased person is said to be elderly. Black Hawk County now has 511 total cases as there is more testing happening at Tyson Foods. The Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo is their largest and has been closed indefinitely. There are no changes for the rest of the listening area.
The computer modelers at the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation has released new estimates about when states could reopen. The earliest state that could reopen is Montana on May 1st. However, they estimate Iowa will have to wait much longer to enter Phase 1 of reopening. Iowa is one of the last states to open in their models with a June 8th or later estimated date. North Dakota is predicted to be last with a July 12th reopen date. The White House task force has heavily utilized these models.