Gazette Daily News Briefing, Dec. 8
This is Stephen Colbert with the Gazette Digital News Desk and this is your update for Wednesday, December 9th, 2020.
Today’s going to be a bit warmer than we’ve seen for a while, with a high of 52 and sunny skies. But it’ll drop to around 28 tonight and stay cold again throughout the week.
Iowa surpasses 2,900 COVID-19 deaths after a state reporting change
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/iowa-coronavirus-deaths-covid-19-cases-change-in-death-reporting-20201208
On Monday night, Interim Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health Kelly Garcia announced the state will begin logging COVID-19 deaths according to federal cause-of-death coding, which is based on the death record completed by a health care provider
Until now, deaths have only been logged as COVID-19 if there is a positive COVID test on file. Now deaths only need to be deemed as COVID-19 by a physician and a positive test is no longer required. As a result, 198 additional deaths have been logged, bringing the total past 2,900.
Iowa teachers and police are among the next in line for the COVID-19 vaccine
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/iowa-vaccine-distribution-who-gets-covid-19-vaccine-first-second-20201208
Iowa health care workers and staff and residents at long-term care facilities are first up in Iowa’s state plan for vaccine distribution. The second wave includes teachers, emergency and law enforcement, Iowans who live in assisted living facilities, and adults with medical conditions that make them more susceptible to COVID-19.
Iowa expects to receive 172,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in December from Pfizer and Moderna, with the first batches tentatively expected next week.
Governor Reynolds cautions Iowans that, while more people will become eligible through each wave of deployment, the future supply isn’t yet certain, so it’s hard to project how long it’ll take to roll out each wave.
Iowa City schools plan for hybrid learning next week, but still apply for another virtual waiver
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/iowa-city-schools-covid-19-virtual-waiver-hybrid-learning-20201208
The Iowa City Community School District is planning on returning to hybrid learning Monday while also applying for another temporary virtual learning waiver for Dec. 14-18.
The Iowa City school board is following its COVID-19 decision matrix, which was approved earlier this year to help guide these decisions during the coronavirus pandemic.
The matrix states that the district will consider online-only learning of the county 14-day positivity rate is 10 percent or higher.
On Tuesday, Johnson County’s 14-day positivity rate was 11.3 percent, steadily trending down from all-time high positivity rates in November.
School officials are hopeful that it could drop below 10 percent by Monday, however, they are also wary of a spike in cases after the Thanksgiving holiday less than two weeks ago.
Tom Vilsack will return as USDA secretary
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/biden-tom-vilsack-iowa-governor-usda-secretary-20201208
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will reprise his role as U.S. agriculture secretary as a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet, several news organizations including Axios and the Associated Press reported Tuesday night, citing unnamed sources.
Vilsack, about to turn 70. was elected to two terms as Iowa governor between 1999 and 2007 and later spent eight years as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Obama administration.
For days, Vilsack was said to be in the running for the position along with Ohio U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge and former North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, among others.
But Biden will name Fudge instead to become secretary of Housing and Urban Development, also a Cabinet-level position.
