The Year in Photos 2020: COVID-19 in Iowa

Myrtle Ross of Cedar Rapids is wheeled out of Mercy Medical Center as she's released and sees her family all together for the first time in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. Ross spent 66 days in the hospital as she was treated for COVID-19. While Ross was in the hospital the Aug. 10 derecho rendered her and her husband's home uninhabitable. The two will be staying in a hotel for the foreseeable future.

Virginia Miller of University Heights picks up an order from Veronica Tessler, business owner, at Yotopia in Iowa City, Iowa on Saturday, April 11, 2020. The local frozen yogurt shop was one of several restaurants in the area to receive an Iowa Small Business Relief Grant to help sustain it through the coronavirus shutdown. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Registered nurse Marla Berry administers the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to an employee at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Two vaccination cubicles are set up in the McIntyre Patient Resource Center at Hall-Perrine Cancer Center as vaccination of employees began on Tuesday. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Clare Allou, 12, (left) and Kayla Cariens, 12, run holding a tape measure enforcing social distancing in their neighborhood while waiting for the teacher parade to come down their street in Coralville on Monday, March 30, 2020. Allou attended Wickham Elementary School and Cariens is a current student.

Licensed practical nurse Tiffany Kinney holds a swab taken from a patient exhibiting coronavirus-like symptoms before placing it in a sealed container for testing at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Family Medicine Clinic in Iowa City on Monday, April 20, 2020.

Students gather around a bottle of hand sanitizer before leaving choral class at McKinley STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, March 12, 2020. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Stephanie Silva (left) of Iowa City has her temperature taken by Lynn Rhinehart (right), a guest services staff member at a virus screening checkpoint outside the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City on Friday, March 13, 2020. Members of the public are asked whether they have been running a temperature, have a cough or have felt ill. They then have their temperature taken and receive a sticker letting staff know they have been screened. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Jason Wilkerson wipes down the door to Local Craft Ale House in Cedar Rapids after a customer came in on Monday, March 16, 2020. Owner Jason Wilkerson decided to go to curbside to-go orders and growler fills in an effort to prevent spread of the coronavirus, and only employees wearing gloves are to use the doors. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Tim Yuengel of Cedar Rapids kisses his wife of 14 years, Denise, while saying goodbye to her for the time being at the Fillmore Center in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, March 19, 2020. The two were staying together at the shelter run by Willis Dady Homeless Services but were separated as women were sent to a separate facility in an effort to better care for the area homeless population amid concerns of the COVID-19 virus. Tim had been staying at the center for about a month.

Assorted packages of meat are scattered in what is usually the poultry section at the Mount Vernon Road Hy-Vee in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, March 19, 2020. Demand for staples rose as customers prepared for the possibility of isolation or quarantine due to the spread of the Coronavirus. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Jaishawn Slatter, 9, runs to give an air-hug his second grade teacher Michele Dorrance while picking up a grab ‘n' go meal at the Johnson STEAM Academy in Cedar Rapids on Monday, March 23, 2020. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Hearts are displayed in the front window of a house in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, March 26, 2020. Neighbors across the nation are placing hearts and teddy bears in their windows both as a way to engage kids who are stuck at home and as a sign of solidarity during this time of social isolation. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

A custodial worker is seen in a skywalk over Second Avenue Southeast in Cedar Rapids on Friday, March 27, 2020. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Army National Guard Pvt. Taylor Barkema of Gardner bumps elbows with Tom Trump, logistics coordinator at Johnson County Emergency Management, as he and Spc. Audrey Hilmer of Waterloo, both of the 1133rd Transportation Company of the Iowa National Guard, deliver medical supplies to the Johnson County Emergency SEATS facility in Iowa City on Saturday, March 28, 2020. The county purchased an order of masks from a supplier in Colorado, while the National Guard delivered gowns, face shields and masks dispensed from the state. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

A group of college students home because of COVID-19 cancellations and closures gather in their cars to catch up on a sunny day at Penn Meadows Park North in North Liberty on Monday, March 30, 2020. The four friends went to Iowa City West High School together and all attend Iowa colleges and universities. They took advantage of a warm day to hang out while practicing social distancing.

Seen through the window of Daydreams Comics, 21 S. Dubuque St., Nathan Parriott talks to a customer about their comic book needs in Iowa City, Iowa, on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. Zach Power and his employees have been contacting customers as well as fulfilling online orders. They offer curbside pickup and free delivery to Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty and Tiffin. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A woman walks in downtown Iowa City, Iowa, past a MidWestOne Bank window decorated with colored heart cutouts on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A sign on the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, Iowa, on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Jayden Miller, 9, waves to community members and members of the Fairfax Fire Department as they 'parade' past his home in celebration of his ninth birthday in Walford, Iowa, on Thursday, April 2, 2020. Members of the volunteer fire department started doing the 'parades' March 27th. They have done eight 'parades' and have 13 more scheduled, including five this weekend. The department has a crew of about 10 people that are currently volunteering to coordinate and do the parades. Members of the department wanted to let children know that celebrating their birthday is important. 'They are missing out on so many things because of the virus. We want to acknowledge they are missing out on things and make sure they know people care about them on their big day,' said volunteer firefighter Marc Magers. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Pastor Stasia Fine hands out silk palm branches before a Palm Sunday parade at Urbana Christian Church in Urbana on Sunday, April 5, 2020. Pastor Stasia Fine said the parade was a way for congregants to observe both Palm Sunday and the state's social distancing guidelines. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

A palm hangs out the window of the Wieser family pickup truck before a Palm Sunday parade at Urbana Christian Church in Urbana on Sunday, April 5, 2020. Pastor Stasia Fine said the parade was a way for congregants to observe both Palm Sunday and the state's social distancing guidelines. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Motorcyclists and friends of Chad Edmonds of Cedar Rapids wave to hospital workers from a parking ramp on the UnityPoint St. Luke's campus in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, April 5, 2020. Edmonds has been battling COVID-19 in the hospital and is in an induced coma, according to his parents, who took part in the show of support. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Debbie Edmonds of Cedar Rapids (left) hugs Valerie Obadal, a nurse at UnityPoint St. Lukes who is caring for Edmonds' son, Chad Edmonds of Cedar Rapids, during a tribute to hospital workers at a parking ramp on the UnityPoint St. Luke's campus in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, April 5, 2020. Chad Edmonds has been battling COVID-19 in the hospital and is in an induced coma, according to his parents, who took part in the show of support. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

UnityPoint — St Luke's Hospital employees gather for a walk-through of the emergency department, which includes a new screening shed, outside the emergency entrance at the hospital in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. The shed will be used to screen patients with mild to moderate respiratory symptoms as part of the ER triage process. Health care workers on Tuesday walked through the new patient flow as they prepared for anticipated high patient volumes due to coronavirus. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Linn-Mar senior Ashlee Haumesser sits on her front porch in her prom dress in Marion on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Haumesser's prom dress was delivered a couple weeks into the school closures, she and her friends are hopeful they'll still get to go to the dance May 16, but worry it will be postponed or canceled. If the dance is canceled, her friends are talking about getting together to at least take photos in their gowns when possible.

Lena Gilbert carries a tray of food for the Passover Seder that she will deliver to her brother Jack in Springville, Iowa, on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. The two live in adjoining duplexes. Lena Gilbert made gefilte fish, horseradish, chrain (cq), a relish made from beets and horseradish, haroset, hard boiled eggs with bitter greens and salt and included almond macaroons and matzo crackers. Normally, Lena would serve the meal family-style with the food on the counter and everyone would serve themselves. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A man in a facemark sits in his vehicle as a volunteer writes how many households he is collecting for and what kind of protein, pork or turkey, is desired on the side of his vehicle during a Hawkeye Area Community Action Plan (HACAP) food reservoir pop-up, drive-thru food pantry in the parking lot of Veterans Memorial Stadium in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday, April 9, 2020. HACAP Food Reservoir Director Kim Guardado said that staff and volunteers had food for about 700 households available at the drive-thru food pantry. Food will be distributed to those in need at other mobile pantries in the community as well as home deliveries in many communities. HACAP planned to package 5,000 boxes of food at ImOn Ice Arena in a partnership with the City of Cedar Rapids, the arena and VenuWorks. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

John Eaker, dressed as the Easter bunny, and Kimberly Eaker, director of the organization Clarence Main Street, wave to kids from the sidewalk during an Easter event in Clarence, Iowa on Saturday, April 11, 2020. The annual Hop into Clarence Easter event was canceled due to concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, so the Easter bunny visited homes around the eastern Iowa town instead. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Pastor Jennifer Zoller prays with a parishioner during a drive-through Easter event at the United Methodist Wapsi Valley Parish in Olin on Sunday, April 12, 2020. Parishioners received take-away communion and Sunday school activity bags for kids. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Larry Potter and his wife Diane with a sign their neighbors put in their front yard in northeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. Neighbors lined the boulevard in their neighborhood with more signs of well wishes for the Potters to see as he returned home Monday, April. 13 from Mercy Medical Center. Diagnosed with COVID-19, Larry, an avid bicyclist, spent nine days in intensive care and six days in rehabilitation. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Hospice aid Michelle Ehr waves and blows air kisses to family and colleagues visiting her through a window at Heritage Specialty Care in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Deb Siggins of Lisbon, Iowa hangs her homemasks on a tree outside her home on Thursday, April 23, 2020. Siggins has made more than 600 masks and regularly hangs them outside her home, where people can stop by and pick up one or several. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Areeb Ansari, 6, Armaan Ansari, 12, and Adil Ansari (right) pray as they celebrate the first night of Ramadan at their home in Cedar Rapids on Friday, April 24, 2020. Muslims worldwide observe a month of daily fasting, but like other world religions, they have had to adapt to the state's recommendations for avoiding the spread of the coronavirus. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Allison Feltes and Pat Fagan wave as friends and family surprise them with a drive-by receiving line at their home in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, April 25, 2020. The couple had planned a large traditional wedding, but had to change plans because of the pandemic. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Sondy Daggett (left) visits her wife, Liz Hoskins, on their tenth wedding anniversary with Liz's daughter Sara Hoskins (right) and granddaughter, Allie Hoskins (center) at Bickford of Marion Senior Living in Marion, Iowa on Friday, May 1, 2020. Sondy and Liz have been partnered for 24 years and married for ten. Liz, who has dementia, lives in an assisted living facility and has not been able to see her family since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Matt Danielson, co-owner of Brewhemia, 1202 Third St SE, places customer orders on a table for pickup in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. The coffee shop is reopening in stages. The business has reopened with a limited to-go menu, online ordering and no-contact pickup. They've recently added a barista back to the operation. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A medical worker gives a thumbs up to a resident after taking a sample for testing for the coronavirus Covid19 at the Test Iowa site at the Kirkwood Continuing Education Training Center, 101 50th Avenue SW, in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday, May 7, 2020. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Dawn Hales director of nursing watches the online broadcast of her commencement ceremony from her office at Accura Healthcare of Ames earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, on Friday, May 8, 2020. Hales has new 'RN2BSN' license plates in honor of the RN to BSN program she is graduating in. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Becky Joens (right) helps senior Yahyness Fields with adjusting his mortar board during filming of commencement ceremonies at Metro High School in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The high school has 160 graduating seniors who were video recorded walking across the stage and moving their tassels from right to left side of their mortar boards. The footage will be edited together for a virtual commencement that will air May 22. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Ellie Tanko is hugged by Abby Tanko (left) and Anna Tanko, 16, after graduating during a diploma delivery to Xavier High School seniors around Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. The school held a virtual prom and is holding a virtual Baccalaureate mass, in addition to the drive-by graduation. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Dale Retzlaff, a driver, wipes down a bus between routes at the Ground Transportation Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Monday, May 18, 2020. Bus service resumed limited routes today, with free fares continuing for riders. Riders must wear a mask and bus capacity is limited to ten passengers at a time. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Members of the University of Iowa Alumni Pep Band play on top of the 10th Street parking ramp at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids on Monday, May 18, 2020. The band members gathered to play for Mercy medical providers on Monday, and at St. Luke's Hospital on Tuesday. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Fortune Djagni, 8, prepares to leave while his father, Kokou Djagni, listens to discharge instructions from pediatric nurse Bette Thornburg at the UnityPoint Health St. Luke's Center for Women's and Children's Health in Cedar Rapids on Friday, May 22, 2020. Fortune had a brief illness in March, then was admitted to the hospital on May 13 and was the first patient in Iowa diagnosed with pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PMIS), also known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which is a rare syndrome that develops four to six weeks after COVID-19 infection has passed. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Isaac Miller (in back of group) holds flowers and watches with his parents Karen and Scott as his younger sister, Tessa, receives he diploma on stage at Liberty High School in North Liberty on Thursday, May 28, 2020.

Staff members change into their work shoes at the start of a shift at Cottage Grove Place in Cedar Rapids on Friday, May 29, 2020. The center has had no new cases of COVID-19 since the end of April, and credits its success at stemming the outbreak to measures including establishing an isolation ward in the skilled nursing facility and dedicated staff working in the wing. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Gowns and face shields hang on the wall between isolation wards for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases at Cottage Grove Place in Cedar Rapids on Friday, May 29, 2020. Staff changed PPE when moving between the two areas. The center has had no new cases of COVID-19 since the end of April, and credits its success at stemming the outbreak to measures including establishing an isolation ward in the skilled nursing facility and dedicated staff working in the wing. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Rev. Mark Murphy chats with Tricia Hoffman-Simanek while her kids Thatcher, 9, and Beckett, 7, wait to go back in the church for mass at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids on Sunday, May 31, 2020. ***Published June 7***

Reporters practice social distancing as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds updates the state's response to the coronavirus outbreak during a news conference at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, June 4, 2020. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Benches are blocked off and numbered to promote space between people in the gallery in Linn County District Court in Cedar Rapids on Friday, June 5, 2020. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Patient Gloria Boggess of Marion, Iowa, closes her eyes as Mark McDermott, director of pastoral care at Mercy Medical Center offers a blessing for her as he makes his rounds at the hospital in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday, June 10, 2020. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Nancy and Roland Raim talk with their daughter, Janelle Rickner of Marion outside Summit Pointe Senior Living Community in Marion on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. The senior living center opened Wednesday for in-person visits, with social distancing measures in place. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Marion Public Library patron services staff Jacob Hauskins talks with a patron on the phone on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Patrons call ahead before picking up their holds at the pickup window. The library is preparing a reopening plan that includes allowing patrons by appointment; continuing use of the pickup window for holds; installation of sneeze guards at desks and in the computer area; and other enhanced health measures. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Plexiglass dividers are stationed on the lunch tables at Central City's elementary school on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. For the Central City community, the school year will begin with a synchronous learning environment, in which students are assigned to a homeroom and 'attend' classes via Google Classroom. In this model, students can choose between in-person or at-home learning, both via computer. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

First-grader Zuly Palante raises her hand as she participates in class via computer video at the home of Callista Ruopp in Iowa City, Iowa, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Photographed through the plastic sheeting creating a booth, Cornell College senior international relations and German double major and student government Vice President Maddie Huntzinger takes a nasal swab from Nancy Reasland Pandemic Response Coordinator as she gets tested for Covid19 coronavirus at the Student Health Center at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. The antigen test used by the college uses a self-administered nasal swab sample which isn't as uncomfortable as a nasopharyngeal swab sample. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Rachel Faust stands ready with hand sanitizer as students arrive for the first day of school at Viola Gibson Elementary School in Cedar Rapids on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Head custodian Effie Redig helps a young student with her face visor as students arrive during the first day of in-person classes at Shimek Elementary School, 1400 Grissel Place, in Iowa City, Iowa, on Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. The school has an enrollment of about 205 students. The school district has been in online-only learning for the past three weeks and started the hybrid learning model Monday. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Myrtle Ross of Cedar Rapids reacts as her husband, William, brings Buddy, one of her two dogs, to her for the first time since testing positive for COVID-19 in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020.

People pass the empty patio at Popoli in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Oct. 23, 2020. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

First-grader Vera Horsfield plays on the monkey bars at Lakeview Elementary School in Solon on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. Students are separated into five groups and rotate through a different recess zone each day in an effort to minimize exposure between classes at the school, which currently has full-time in-person learning. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Robin Nelson sets up her two computer screens before the virtual schoolday begins at Garfield Elementary School in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Classrooms that had been meeting in-person are moving to online learning. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

An empty hallway is seen at Garfield Elementary School in Cedar Rapids on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Classrooms that had been meeting in-person are moving to online learning. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Registered nurse Marla Berry prepress to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to Dr. Hassan Sajjad, Medical ICU Director and a pulmonary and critical care specialist, as another nurse takes a photo with Dr. Sajjad's phone at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. Two vaccination cubicles are set up in the McIntyre Patient Resource Center at Hall-Perrine Cancer Center as vaccination of employees began on Tuesday. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Healthcare workers check on a patient in the intensive care unit at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. The unit uses negative pressure individual rooms for patients to increase airflow safety for patients and staff. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Patient care technician Rachel Zimmer looks through the window into a patient's room in the intensive care unit at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. The hospital is currently caring for 24 COVID-19 patients. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)