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COVID-19

Iowa lawmaker wears jeans to note GOP’s lack of mask mandate

DES MOINES — A state lawmaker wore jeans on the floor of the Iowa House to draw attention to Republicans’ refusal to mandate masks in the chamber even as they ban members from wearing jeans. Democratic Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell of Ames wore jeans Tuesday during House debate. When the ...

Senior Iowans can schedule vaccine appointments

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Public Health on Wednesday announced the availability of COVID-19 vaccine for approximately 32,000 Iowans age 65 and older. Unused vaccines which were originally allocated to the Long-Term Care Pharmacy Partnership Program have been redistributed to a limited ...

Fifth positive virus case identified at Iowa Capitol

DES MOINES — A fifth person working at the Iowa Capitol tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday. Iowa House Chief Clerk Meghan Nelson said the individual was last in the building on Thursday and had worn a face covering at all times. The identity of positive cases is not routinely ...

Iowa’s testing lags while positivity rate remains high

Iowa still has a lower rate of testing for COVID-19 than any other state, while the positivity rate among those tested continues to be among the highest in the nation. Iowa’s rate of COVID-19 infections continues to drop, meanwhile, with the state reporting an additional 779 infections for ...

Biden meets Republicans on virus aid, but no quick deal

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden met for two hours late Monday with a group of Republican senators who have proposed a slimmed down $618 billion coronavirus aid package that is only a fraction of the $1.9 trillion he is seeking. Skeptical Democrats vowed to push ahead in Congress with or ...

COVID-19 update: Hospitalizations fall, positive test rate tops 25%

Iowa’s hospitalizations related to COVID-19 continue to fall sharply, but the test positivity rate exceeded 25 percent, the New York Times reported. As of Sunday, there were 358 hospitalizations, down 26 percent in the past two weeks, the newspaper’s database indicated. The Times ...