Public Health expects number of positive virus cases to continue leveling off

GREENFIELD — In a statement to a Des Moines television station last week, Adair County Health System Marketing Director Amy Smith said that a team approach continues to be taken by all officials involved with fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the county and that people should remain vigilant, though a portion of the population have been vaccinated and positive cases in the general public remain low.

The two-week positivity rate surged above 20% last week. While that may seem alarming, Smith told the newspaper in a release Monday that the decrease in the amount of testing, combined with an increasing number of cases at a local long term care facility, drove the positivity rate up. As of Monday, that percentage was down to 11.4%. A check of the State Coronavirus Dashboard indicates that long term facility is Good Samaritan Society in Fontanelle.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Public Health officials stressed. “We encourage people to stay the course. Continue practicing preventative measures recommended by CDC, including masking, hand washing, social distancing and staying home when sick. We need to stay diligent in this battle against COVID.”

As of last Friday, 821 doses of the vaccine have been administered by providers here in the county. Five hundred twenty-five have received first doses and 148 have completed the two doses. Individuals who are eligible for vaccination may all 641-743-2123 and press option 4 during business hours or email publichealth@adaircountyhealthsystem.org to be on a notification list.

“As our current allocation of 100 doses per week in Adair County continues, it will take time to administer vaccine to all eligible individuals as that number continues to grow as we move through the tiers,” officials said.