SPM NEWS 2.18.21 - NOON NEWS
Siouxland District Health reported two more deaths in Woodbury County for a death toll of 210 due to complications of COVID-19. The positivity rate is up slightly to 6%. Hospitalizations are up almost 15% with 14 patients at Sioux City’s two medical facilities. Statewide there are 241 patients, with 60 in intensive care. That’s a small decrease from the day before.
There have been 18 new cases added in Woodbury County. Statewide, there are more than 550 new cases and 15 deaths in a 24-hour period that ended this morning at 10 a.m.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is defending the state’s decision to prioritize the elderly for coronavirus vaccination shots over people with underlying health conditions, noting that most Nebraska residents who have died so far were at least 65 years old.
SPM NEWS 2.18.21 - NOON NEWS
Siouxland District Health reported two more deaths in Woodbury County for a death toll of 210 due to complications of COVID-19. The positivity rate is up slightly to 6%. Hospitalizations are up almost 15% with 14 patients at Sioux City’s two medical facilities. Statewide there are 241 patients, with 60 in intensive care. That’s a small decrease from the day before.
There have been 18 new cases added in Woodbury County. Statewide, there are more than 550 new cases and 15 deaths in a 24-hour period that ended this morning at 10 a.m.
Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate have approved 21-million dollars for a new personnel and accounting computer program for the state.
2.17.21: Iowa Governor Kim Reynold s comments on the COVID-19 Pandemic
Earlier this month, Iowa was near the bottom in the country for vaccination rates. The Governor says the CDC now ranks Iowa 22nd in the nation and suspects Iowa is doing even better than that recent ranking with almost 500,000 vaccinations.
Reynolds says Iowa will get 62,000 more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week. That’s up 24%. Also, the White House wants more vaccination clinics on weekends and Governor Reynolds says she fully supports this plan to allow people to get the vaccine during convenient times.
Nebraska expects more than 60,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines to be available in the state this week as officials continue to focus on vaccinating everyone 65 and older across Nebraska. It’s not yet clear how many doses will be allocated this week to a new federal program that is distributing some virus shots through select pharmacies. Last week, that program received 5,700 doses of the vaccines.
State health officials reported 804 new positive cases in Iowa between 10 a.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. Friday, according the coronavirus.iowa.gov website.