With 16,000 Linn County residents still without power and several school buildings damaged following last week’s derecho, what was already a contentious school reopening process has been made more difficult in Cedar Rapids. 

“20 of 31 school buildings in Cedar Rapids report damage, and schools across the state that report damaged buildings may turn to complete virtual learning until damages are repaired,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a press conference Thursday. 

Art Sathoff, superintendent for Indianola School District said at the press conference that when it comes to school, that district’s staff is best to do contact tracing. 

“We anticipate a seamless transition back to in-person learning when we welcome students back from their quarantine period. Our teachers and staff are working really hard to deliver quality instruction to serve remote and face-to-face learners, and we appreciate the support we are receiving from the community. middle and high school teachers have been trained in blended learning strategies” Sarthoff said. 

Iowa Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Jake Nicholson said at the press conference that the department partnered with the Iowa Department of Education to distribute surveys to all Iowa school districts in order to identify their needs. 

Nicholson said 277 school districts have responded to the survey so far, and as a result are receiving state PPE and supplies. Supplies includes 2,500 no-touch thermometers, 110,000 face shields, 650,000 face masks, 3600 gallons of hand sanitizer, 1600 gallons of bleach, 4100 gallons of liquid disinfectant, and 86,000 packets of premoistened sanitizing wipes totalling 4.3 million wipes, across the 277 school districts. 

“In partnership with county emergency management agencies across the state, the state emergency transportation center has arranged deliveries of PPE and other supplies to individual counties across the state. Schools across the state are receiving 11 semi-loads of supplies,” Nicholson said. 

Reynolds said there was a change in the testing criteria from the State Hygenics Lab. K-12 students and staff can now be tested at their local health-care facilities, even if they are not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. 

“While young people are at a low risk of the virus, they are highly likely to spread it to others. That’s why virus activity in college age and younger individuals continues to be a concern,” Reynolds said. 

Reynolds also touched on a test reporting issue that had been identified on the state’s coronavirus website. The issue was due to duplicating results for individuals who were tested multiple times. As a result, an individual’s most recent test result, whether positive or negative, was attributed to the date of their first test result. 

Reynolds said results and information have now been updated to accurately represent the correct number of cases. Adjusting the test date pushes some test results forward in time which results in some changes in the 14 day positivity rates by county, because in doing so many counties have seen a slight decrease in positivity rates following the update. Now, testing centers will record the lab collection date rather than the test result date, she said.

“I am passionate about updating the state’s IT infrastructure,” Reynolds said. “Our state is extremely behind when it comes to important technology that allows us to aggregate the data in a responsible manner. By updating our systems and doing a better job with technology  infrastructure, we will be able to better serve Iowans in a more efficient and effective manner.”