Black Hawk County Has First Case Of COVID-19

Black Hawk County has its first reported positive case of COVID-19, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported Tuesday in a press release.

The Black Hawk County case was among six additional positive cases of Iowans with COVID-19, bringing the state-wide total to 29. IDPH officials said the new cases involved three residents of Johnson County and one each in Adair, Black Hawk and Dallas counties.

News of the six additional cases came Tuesday just a few hours after Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered restaurants, bars, fitness centers, theaters and casinos to close for the rest of the month as part of a public health emergency plan designed to reduce the community spread of the coronavirus.

A press conference will be held Wednesday at 11 AM with details about the newly confirmed case. Local health officials activated the Black Hawk County Emergency Operation Center on Tuesday, the day the county's first case was announced.

To help streamline data and information, county officials unveiled a new website that will be updated regularly as information on the coronavirus pandemic changes. The new website, blackhawkcovid19.com, was unveiled Tuesday during a 3 PM news conference at the command center in Waterloo.

Black Hawk County Public Health Director Dr. Nafissa Cisse Egbuonye is in charge of the local command center.