The Iowa Department of Public Health announced three more deaths from COVID-19, as well as 86 additional positive cases it’s been notified about.
There have now been 785 positive cases in Iowa, according to the department with input from Pottawattamie County Public Health, which noted a discrepancy in Saturday’s state reporting. The state listed 87 new cases, including two cases in Pottawattamie County, but one — listed as an adult between 18 and 40 — was an inadvertent duplication of an existing case. The other case listed by the state Saturday is a Council Bluffs man between the age of 41 and 60 reported locally on Friday. It is the county’s seventh case, including two patients who have recovered.
The three deaths reported to the state are an adult between the ages of 61 and 80 years old from Linn County, an adult between the ages of 41 and 60 from Henry County and an adult between the ages of 60 and 80 from Polk County.
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There have been a total of 9,454 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs.
Along with the seventh Pottawattamie County case, the state totals also include a Mills County man age 41 to 60 reported locally on Friday.
According to IDPH, with the Pottawattamie County duplication removed, the locations and age ranges of the 86 individuals include:
Black Hawk County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Bremer County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
Clinton County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
Dubuque County, 2 middle age adults (41-60 years)
Grundy County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
Howard County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
Iowa County, 1 adult (18-40 years)
Jefferson County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
Johnson County, 7 adults (18-40 years), 5 middle age adults (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Keokuk County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Lee County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Linn County, 3 adults (18-40 years), 9 middle age adults (41-60 years), 6 older adults (61-80 years), 2 elderly adults (81+)
Lyon County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
Mills County, 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
Muscatin e County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 3 middle age adults (41-60 years), 1 elderly adult (81+)
Plymouth County, 2 adults (18-40 years)
Polk County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 4 middle age adults (41-60 years), 4 older adults (61-80 years)
Pottawattamie County 1 middle age adult (41-60 years)
Scott County, 3 adults (18-40 years), 2 middle age adults (41-60 years), 2 elderly adults (81+)
Sioux County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 1 older adult (41-60 years)
Tama County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 2 older adults (61-80 years), 4 elderly adults (81+)
Van Buren County, 1 older adult (41-60 years)
Warren County, 1 elderly adult (81+)
Washington County, 1 adult (18-40 years), 1 middle age adult (41-60 years), 2 older adults (61-80 years)
Grand juries, jury trials in Iowa suspended until mid-July
The Iowa Supreme Court has issued an order suspending grand jury hearings and criminal jury trials until mid-July in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Chief Justice Susan Christensen issued the order Thursday, saying trials and hearings already in progress will continue, but those that have not begun and are scheduled to begin over the coming weeks have been postponed.
Non-jury criminal trials, in which a judge issues a verdict, are scheduled to resume June 1 under the order. Grand juries and jury trials scheduled through June are now pushed back until at least July 13. The order also allows for certain hearings — such as bond and initial appearances — to be conducted by videoconference or phone.
In civil cases, such as lawsuits and divorce cases, non-jury trials have been pushed back to June 15, while jury trials have been postponed to at Aug. 3.
Minnesota gov. worried about response from border states
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he’s worried about neighboring states that have yet to issue stay-at-home orders to try and slow the spread of COVID-19.
North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa were among a handful of states that did not have statewide orders in place as of Friday afternoon.
“I do worry about that,” Walz said, adding that he has communicated with officials in the three states that border Minnesota to the west and south, the Pioneer Press reported. “It’s probably only a matter of time before they issue those, too.”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said at a press conference that the state has “taken significant and incremental steps” to limit the spread of the virus and a stay-at-home order is not needed yet. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem echoed those thoughts.
“We’re a low population state and a large low population state. I will use every tool at my disposal as governor to protect the lives and safety of North Dakotans,” Burgum said Friday. “But I’m only going to use those tools if it makes sense and when it makes sense.”
Noem said a statewide order wouldn’t be worth the disruption it would cause even though she predicted that up to 70% of the state’s population might get COVID-19.
Walz, who said it’s likely that he will extent Minnesota’s order to the end of April, said the state’s residents are saving lives by following the rules set in place.
“We are trying to look and be thoughtful with the data,” Walz said. “I think a lot of this depends on how well Minnesotans simply adhere to it without us telling them to so that they are not jeopardizing the gains that we are making.”
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.