(Atlantic) Cass County Health System CEO Brett Altman says so far 25 individuals have been tested for COVID-19, all test results they have received so far have been negative. There’s still pending test results and those patients will be personally notified when the results are received, whether positive or negative.
While that is good news, Altman says to keep in mind; there could be Cass County residents that test outside of their system. “It’s possible, while we don’t have any positive tests, there could be one pop out from outside of the Cass County Health System,” warned Altman.
Cass County Memorial Hospital appears to be well equipped to deal with an outbreak at present. Altman says CCHS has sourced some additional ventilators. “For a community our size, we probably have more ventilators per capita than they do in the cities,” said Altman. “We are conserving our protective equipment like masks, gowns, and gloves. We’re trying to be thoughtful in how we use that stock, and well supplied at the present time.”
Altman is grateful for community support. “We’ve had lots of volunteers offer to sew cloth masks for us,” said Altman. “As a backup plan, we’re accepting those, and I have a feeling we’ll have more than we need before it’s all said and done. I am appreciative of the Cass County niceness and the fact people want to help.”
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 19 additional positive cases of coronavirus in the state this morning. The total number of positive tests now totals 124. There have been a total of 2,315 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs.
