Another week has passed, and I continue to be proud of our state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ways we are working together to find solutions and support each other. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or concerns. Below is the latest update on the changing Coronavirus situation as of April 24th, 2020.
Please like and follow my Facebook Page for the latest updates. I will continue to post frequent updates as they become available to me.
Test Iowa has three phases – Assess, Test, Track.
1. Assess – The Governor is asking all Iowans to complete the self-assessment on TestIowa.com. The website states that the “personal data will be used exclusively for the purpose of fighting COVID-19 and will be destroyed once the immediate threat of the virus subsides. Personal data shared is protected under Iowa Code Chapter 715C.”
The assessment asks about residence information, height, weight, exposure to others that may be sick, your health conditions, pregnancy, makeup of members in your household, whether you are practicing social distancing, and the industry you work in.
There may be additional contacts made by the website to check in for updates on changes to Iowans conditions and interactions.
2. Test – The assessment will end telling you whether you need to be tested. Those with symptoms, interacted with someone with COVID, are an essential worker or live in a hot-spot area may be recommended for testing. The website will work with certain individuals to schedule the sample collection by email. The first “drive-through” site will be at the Iowa Events Center on Saturday, with more locations being planned to begin next week. There will be no cost to Iowans that are tested
3. Track – Those that test positive will then participate in contact tracing to determine when you were exposed and what other people you have exposed.
This additional data-driven approach is going to help determine direction of resources and efforts. The goal is to test 540,000 additional Iowans. Iowa is the second state in the nation to follow this testing model. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
Test Iowa has three phases – Assess, Test, Track.
1. Assess – The Governor is asking all Iowans to complete the self-assessment on TestIowa.com. The website states that the “personal data will be used exclusively for the purpose of fighting COVID-19 and will be destroyed once the immediate threat of the virus subsides. Personal data shared is protected under Iowa Code Chapter 715C.”
The assessment asks about residence information, height, weight, exposure to others that may be sick, your health conditions, pregnancy, makeup of members in your household, whether you are practicing social distancing, and the industry you work in.
There may be additional contacts made by the website to check-in for updates on changes to Iowans conditions and interactions.
2. Test – The assessment will end telling you whether you need to be tested. Those with symptoms, interacted with someone with COVID, are an essential worker or live in a hot-spot area may be recommended for testing. The website will work with certain individuals to schedule the sample collection by email. The first “drive-through” site will be at the Iowa Events Center on Saturday, with more locations being planned to begin next week. There will be no cost to Iowans that are tested
3. Track – Those that test positive will then participate in contact tracing to determine when you were exposed and what other people you have exposed.
This additional data-driven approach is going to help determine direction of resources and efforts. The goal is to test 540,000 additional Iowans. Iowa is the second state in the nation to follow this testing model. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
