Coronavirus

A federal appeals panel Tuesday allowed the state of Iowa to enforce a law that prevents local schools from imposing mask mandates — but not for schools attended by students whose disabilities make them more vulnerable to severe illness if they get COVID-19.

Cedar Rapids resident Cathy Folkers was hospitalized for 89 days with COVID-19, moving in and out of the intensive care unit. The cost of her stay? More than $1 million. Fortunately for her the cost was covered entirely by Medicaid

Iowa reported 38,574 new COVID-19 cases in the past seven days, the highest weekly total ever seen in the pandemic. Public health officials also reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 patients this week as the omicron variant continues its rapid spread throughout the state.

With COVID cases surging in Iowa as students return to its public universities for the spring semester, the University of Iowa graduate student union is urging members to move all courses they’re teaching online for the first two weeks – despite UI policy barring such action without permission.

The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to U.S. residents starting next week, now that federal officials are emphasizing their better protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 over cloth face coverings.

Schools end notifications after Linn and Johnson county public health departments announced an end to COVID-19 contact tracing efforts earlier this month.

The University of Iowa is seeking help ensuring compliance with other states’ labor and payroll laws and practices for employees working outside Iowa — as the campus approves more remote-work arrangements amid COVID-propelled changes.

That reality has made health care workers and administrators weary, thinking that the two years they’ve spent warning people about the highly contagious COVID-19 and its effect on hospital resources have yielded little to help relieve the pressure

According to the state, the largest current outbreaks are at Black Hawk County’s Newaldaya Lifescapes, the site of 30 infections, and Linn County’s Hiawatha Care Center, where there are 26 infections.

Eastern Iowa’s congresswoman tested positive for coronavirus this week despite being fully vaccinated and boosted, in her second bout with the respiratory illness.

Eastern Iowa schools struggle to find creative solutions to keep classrooms functioning with record-high numbers of absences from COVID-19.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has stopped the Biden administration from enforcing a requirement that employees at large businesses be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing and wear a mask on the job.

The current surge in COVID-19 cases has resulted in more delays in health care for the average Iowan “than there were at any other time during the pandemic,” the CEO of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics said this week. Not only are health care systems facing high COVID-19 hospitalization rates, but more staff are calling in sick than ever before.

For the second week in a row, Johnson County reported a record in new COVID-19 infections with 2,308 cases this past week. State public health data released Wednesday shows case counts statewide continue to surge as hospitalizations reach totals not seen since December 2020.

A nationwide shortage of monoclonal antibody therapies and oral antiviral medications used to treat COVID-19 patients has prompted local hospital officials to adjust treatment protocols, prioritizing the patients at highest risk for developing serious illness.