Gazette Daily News Podcast, May 19

There's a 20 percent chance of showers today before 2pm.The high will be near 64. It'll stay cloudy into the night with a low of 55.

The number of coronavirus cases in Iowa rose today to 14,955 total cases and is now in 97 of Iowa's 99 counties. The number of statewide deaths attributed to coronavirus has risen to 355

Two young patients with a rare inflammatory syndrome linked to coronavirus in children are being treated in a Cedar Rapids hospital. Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, or PMIS, it is a rare, potentially deadly syndrome that has appeared in recent weeks among hundreds of children across the country who have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

More severe cases may require admission to a pediatric hospital or intensive care unit for management of low blood pressure and other complications. Symptoms include: persistent fever, conjunctivitis (or pink eye), rash, enlarged lymph nodes, swollen hands or feet, abdominal pain without explanation, vomiting and/or diarrhea. Officials ask families and their children to continue practicing social distancing, frequent hand-washing and taking other steps to prevent an infection of COVID-19.

Remember that Tysons plant where a bunch of workers got coronavirus? It turns out safety regulators declined to inspect them after receiving a complaint alleging workers were exposed to the coronavirus in crowded conditions. Nine days after getting the complaint, an Iowa OSHA official called Tyson and sent a letter the same day requesting a response within a week, records show.

The plant manager responded in a letter that said the plant was installing partitions to separate workers on the production line and supplying face masks because of the difficulties of social distancing. The letter didn't mention the mass testing of employees or the week-long plant closure as they waited for results and the matter was closed the same day.

A host of civic organizations and businesses has debuted an initiative its members hope will help their community post-pandemic. The Better Together Network was announced by the Iowa City Area Business Partnership, Iowa City Area Development Group, Think Iowa City and the Iowa City Downtown District.

Kate Moreland, CEO of ICAD, cited the need for cooperation in a news release Friday.

'This is a critical time to come together, be proactive and look to the future,' Moreland said. 'As we have seen over the past eight weeks of working more collaboratively among just our four organizations, we have been able to accelerate the manner in which we get information and resources to our community.'

You can find all this and the rest of our coronavirus coverage at our dedicated coronavirus page, TheGazette.com/coronavirus.

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