MASON CITY, Iowa – Public health officials say they see a “disturbing upward trend” in COVID-19 cases in Cerro Gordo County.
“There are two current trends that affect me the most,” says Jeni Stiles, assistant manager of disease prevention at CG Public Health, “the increasing infection rate among children and young adults and the decline in testing.”
Health officials say the existence of coronavirus vaccines should not create a false sense of security and that COVID-19 is still a threat to young and old.
“We call on businesses and employers to give their employees time to be tested, to stay home when they are sick, and to allow them time when they have to stay home with children in quarantine,” Stiles said. ‘We encourage parents and young adults to test their children and themselves, even if the symptoms look like a cold. The only way to control this virus is through detection, quarantine and isolation. We can not do this without testing. ”
As of Friday, Cerro Gordo County had 5554 positive tests for COVID-19 and 86 deaths related to the virus. The province had 73,012 coronavirus tests done.
The state of Iowa on Friday reported 519 new COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths.