At 11:00 Thursday morning Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds reported on the status of COVID-19 in Iowa. 302 new cases and 7,145 total cases with 14 new deaths and 162 total deaths. 2,697 Iowans have recovered from the novel corornavirus. 89% of the new cases were from the 22 counties with longer lockdowns; that figure was 98% just a two days ago. Restricts will be lifted for 77 of Iowa’s 99 counties. Black Hawk, Bremer and Fayette Counties are part of the 22 counties that will not be able to lift restrictions until at least May 15. Reynolds said during her press conference Thursday that she believes people will continue to get sick with or without restrictions until a vaccine is developed. That is part of her reasoning for lifting restrictions for most of the state Friday. She reiterated the social distancing guidelines people should follow even after some businesses are able to open Friday. She also emphasized that most people infected with COVID-19 will have only mild to no symptoms while acknowledging that the virus is extremely dangerous for compromised and vulnerable Iowans.
The area COVID-19 stats have been updated. Bremer County has an additional case for a total of 51 with 3 total deaths, Butler has another positive case for a total of 9 and Black Hawk County has two different figures again: the Iowa Department of Public Health says 1,140 cases and 13 deaths while the more recent Black Hawk County Health Department number is 1,326.