Gazette Daily News Briefing, October 3 and October 4
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of Oct. 3 and 4.
Your weather for this weekend is looking to continue the chilly fall trend before temperatures warm up next week. On Saturday, the National Weather Service is predicting cloudy skies and a chance for rain showers in the evening, with a high of 58 degrees. On Sunday it will be sunny with a calm wind, but still with a high of 57 degrees. Lower temperatures for both days will be in the mid 30s.
After announcing he had tested positive for COVID-19 after midnight Friday, President Donald Trump was transported to Walter Reed Medical Center less than 24 hours later for treatment of his symptoms. The president’s doctors announced Friday night that although the president was symptomatic, suffering from fever and fatigue, he was doing well and in good spirits. He also has received antiviral therapy with the drug Remdesvir, which has been shown to shorten hospital stays for patients with COVID-19.
Meanwhile, back in Iowa, as new cases of COVID-19 at Iowa’s public universities remained low, Gov. Kim Reynolds declared Friday that bars in the campus communities of Johnson and Story counties could reopen next week and that wineries, breweries and distilleries in those counties could reopen immediately.
While Iowa has reported more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases statewide for the last three days in a row — and the state remains the sixth worst in the nation when the average of new cases is weighed against population — the governor did not announce any additional mitigation steps.
After a surge in new COVID-19 cases in August coinciding with the return of students to school, Reynolds initially ordered bars in six Iowa counties to close but later narrowed the scope to only Johnson — home to the University of Iowa — and Story — home to Iowa State University. Bars in these two counties have been closed for over 5 weeks and the state is asking that they enforce strict 6 foot social distancing when they do reopen.
Statewide, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health analyzed by The Gazette, Iowa reported 1,158 positive cases bringing the state’s total so far to 90,805. The state also reported nine new deaths bringing the virus death toll in Iowa up to 1,367.
The Iowa Supreme Court has signed an order allowing the state to enforce a federal order halting evictions of residents who cannot pay their rent during the coronavirus pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention enacted the order Sept. 4, citing the “historic threat to public health” because of the virus.
“Evicted renters must move, which leads to multiple outcomes that increase the risk of COVID-19 spread,” the order said. “Specifically, many evicted renters move into close quarters in shared housing or other congregate settings.”
The order applies to individuals earning $99,000 or less annually or couples making $198,000 or less annually who would be homeless if evicted. If someone has to move within close quarters with family or friends, that also counts.
