Two milestones were reached in Iowa Tuesday (5/5) in the coronavirus outbreak.  408 new cases have been reported, bringing Iowa’s total for the pandemic to 10,111.  And 19 people have died from COVID-19, bringing the state total to 207.   One of the newly reported deaths is to an adult over the age of 81 from Jasper County.  Of the new cases reported Tuesday, 14 of them are in Wapello County, one in Mahaska County and nine in Jasper County.

At Tuesday’s press briefing, Governor Kim Reynolds said we shouldn’t just focus on the number of positive coronavirus cases.

“But also, our hospital capacity and our ability to take care of Iowans that may need hospitalization.  The fact is, we can’t prevent people from getting the COVID-19 virus.  If we weren’t testing in these areas, people would still have the virus and without being tested, diagnosed and isolated, it could spread even further.”

The Governor added that going where COVID-19 is active gives health officials a better chance to manage the virus.

Remember, you can hear Governor Reynolds’ daily news conference every weekday morning at 11 on the No Coast Network.