(Des Moines) The Iowa Board of Medicine voted across the board, asking the Governor to issue a state-wide shelter-in-place order. The committee held an emergency teleconference meeting on Friday morning. Six Physicians and two members of the Public sit on the Iowa Board of Medicine.
Kent Nebel, Executive Director of the Iowa Board of Medicine, tells KSOM/KS95 News, as practicing physicians and concerned public members, the board believes given the worsening condition and the spread of COVID-19, the Governor, needs to go one step further and issue a shelter-in-place order. They feel this additional step will help to protect the patients, the public, and healthcare providers on the front line.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says she hasn’t seen the letter but mentioned she is interested in hearing the board’s recommendations outside of what she has already implemented.
The Governor says there’s a disconnect with what the state’s done, what the expectations are and, what’s taking place in other states.
As of Thursday evening, the Governor reported eighty-five additional positive cases of COVID-19 in three new counties for a total of 699 positive cases in 65 counties. Reynolds says 710 tests came back negative, with a total of 8,764 negative cases. There are 2,500 total tests available at the State Hygienic Lab. As of Thursday evening, 85 patients hospitalized and 188 patients who have recovered from the virus and no new deaths.
