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by Lissa Blake

In these unprecedented times of pandemic outbreak, schools in Allamakee County are trying to do their part until life returns to normal.

“I’d love to see students back to school in the near future, but that’s not likely to happen,” said Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Superintendent Jay Mathis. Mathis is among a group of about 30 superintendents who consistently meet via videoconference to discuss what measures each district is taking during this time of forced closure in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We just sent out a notice last week that Prom has been canceled,” said Mathis of the event originally scheduled for April 25 at Waukon High School.

Mathis added while graduation is still set for Sunday, May 17, he wouldn’t be surprised if school closures will be extended, forcing additional cancellations of such activities. “We sure hope we can get the students back and have graduation,” he said.

Call VMH to request testing for COVID-19, for Urgent Care visits and special visiting arrangements

Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon has been restricting all visitors to the hospital within this past week.  The restrictions are in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.

In the event of a special circumstance, such as a terminal patient, family members may call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411 and speak with the charge nurse about the situation.

Anyone with flu-like symptoms that is requesting to be tested for COVID-19 must meet all criteria to qualify for a test. Initial screenings will be performed over the phone by calling the hospital at 563-568-3411 and asking for the COVID-19 phone line.

Schools across Iowa closed for four weeks, many events canceled or postponed; Health officials offer guidance

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Allamakee County Public Health have reported Allamakee County’s first cases of COVID-19.

“This investigation has identified two cases of COVID-19 with known international travel exposure,” the joint health departments shared in a jointly-released statement. “One individual is a middle-aged adult between 41-60 years; the other is a child, age 0-18 years. This is not indicative of community circulation of the virus here in Allamakee County. It remains critical that all residents continue to take preventive measures.”

Those preventive measures to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 infection include:

Do not arrive unannounced at healthcare facilities

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) provided additional guidance to health officials across the state concerning testing for COVID-19 infection, emphasizing that any testing for the virus must be done by the person’s health care provider and that those seeking testing must not go unannounced to their doctor’s office or hospital.

“Individuals need to direct requests to their health care providers for testing of COVID-19 infection,” said Mike Myers, Administrator at Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. “Anyone who believes they may need to be tested for COVID-19 should call their health care provider to ask about testing and be prepared to provide details about their symptoms. Do not show up unannounced at a local health facility, as that can spread the virus.”

Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities. Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings and other types of assemblies.

These events can be planned not only by organizations and communities but also by individuals.

Therefore, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in accordance with its guidance for large events and mass gatherings, recommends that for the next eight weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.

Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene and social distancing. When feasible, organizers could modify events to be virtual.

The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade scheduled for Sunday, March 15 in Waukon ended up resulting in much more than its usual show of Irish spirit. Just over an hour before the parade was scheduled to begin, the Waukon City Council met in an emergency session that took some time to arrange due to open meetings quorum requirements and made the unanimous decision to revoke the parade permit based on recommendations for large gatherings made by the Iowa Governor’s Office and the Iowa Department of Public Health following the announcement late Saturday evening, March 14 that the first case had been reported in Iowa of COVID-19 due to community spread - meaning not knowing the origin and not attributable to travel as were the previous 17 cases in Iowa.

Waukon City Councilman John Ellingson provided the following statement in regard to the Waukon City Council’s actions in respect to revoking the parade permit:

At a special meeting held by the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors early Tuesday morning, March 17, the Supervisors discussed a decision to close the Allamakee County Courthouse to the general public in light of the health concerns posed by COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus. The following statement was released by Allamakee County officials following the Tuesday morning meeting:

Wednesday, March 25 at about 10 a.m., Allamakee County will be participating in the State of Iowa Tornado Drill as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which is observed March 23-27. The intent will be to activate the warning sirens in each of the towns in Allamakee County when the National Weather Service issues a test Tornado Warning around the 10 a.m. timeframe.

County facilities will be conducting a tornado drill at that same time and this will also allow the County 911 Dispatch Center to test its remote activation capability with each of these sirens in communities within the county. This function allows for a quick activation of warning sirens alerting of any tornado warning. In the event of actual or potential severe weather on that date, the test will be rescheduled.
 

The 2020 Allamakee County Dairy Banquet scheduled for this Saturday, March 21 at the Allamakee County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Waukon has been postponed to a date yet to be determined. The annual celebration recognizes the importance of the dairy industry in Allamakee County and the contributions dairy families make to the industry and also awards top producers from the county, along with recognizing numerous award winners and crowning the Allamakee County Dairy Princess.
 

Beginning Wednesday, March 18, all visitors to Veterans Memorial hospital will be restricted. This is in an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus within the hospital.
In the event of a special circumstance, such as a terminal patient, family members may call Veterans Memorial Hospital at 563-568-3411 and speak with the charge nurse about the situation.
Anyone with flu-like symptoms that is requesting to be tested for COVID-19 must meet all criteria to qualify for a test. Screenings will be performed over the phone by calling the hospital at
563- 568-3411 and asking for the COVID-19 phone line.
Other restrictions have also been put into effect immediately at Veterans Memorial Hospital. All outpatients and visitors with special circumstances should enter through the hospital’s main entrance where they will be screened at the door.