(Audubon) The Iowa Department of Public Health and Audubon County Public Health have identified an additional case of COVID-19 in the county. The individual is an adult aged 19-40.
This additional case brings Audubon County’s total to 11 positive confirmed cases of COVID-19, this number includes six that have recovered, one death and four that continue to be monitored.
Audubon County Pubic Health Administrator Bob Nelson says a common question that Audubon County Public Health receives is a request for more information on a COVID-19 positive individual. Please keep in mind that when a new positive case is announced the Iowa Department of Public Health is only allowing the age range of the individual to be released. Due to confidentiality and HIPPA regulations any additional information including the person’s race, ethnicity, gender, city or employer is considered confidential information and cannot be given out.
As the State of Iowa and Audubon County begin to reopen and you begin to re-visit businesses again please take steps to protect yourself and our community from COVID-19. Continue to practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently and do not touch your face. Wear a mask when in close proximity to others and stay home when ill. If you are over the age of 65 or have underlying health conditions please seriously consider staying home.
In other news; the state of Iowa is in great need of volunteers to sign up with the Iowa Statewide Emergency Registry of Volunteers (i-SERV). The Iowa Department of Public Health has a secure online registry for individuals wishing to volunteer in the event of a large scale disaster or public health emergency such as COVID-19.
i-SERV is part of a federal effort to coordinate and assemble volunteers for all types of emergencies.
The i-SERV online registration includes questions about basic personal information and professional skills. Volunteers have the ability to decide travel distance and length of deployment. Based on the information provided, public health officials will identify and contact those individuals suited to fill the specific volunteer roles needed in an emergency.
Anyone can volunteer. An emphasis is currently being placed on the recruitment of licensed medical and healthcare volunteers that will satisfy clinical needs and provide surge capacity for the current COVID-19 crisis.
Volunteers who do not have any medical training are welcomed and are encouraged to register. There will be a need for volunteers with all types of skills and expertise, such as interpreters for a variety of languages and for the hearing impaired; administration; transportation training; provision of day care; security; computers; clerical work; data entry and construction.
To sign up, please visit the website at iaserv.org/
