BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
PCC EDITOR
LEE COUNTY - County health officials are reporting 86 new positive cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The new cases represent all new cases from Monday afternoon March 22, through Friday afternoon March 26, as the county has reduced reporting new cases to Mondays and Fridays. The 86 represents more than 20 per day this week. The county had multiple days with 0 new cases since the beginning of March leading up to Monday.
According to Lee County Health Department data, the new cases represented an uptick in the county's 14-day positivity rating which is still below 1% to .6%. However, the county's 7-day rate is now back at 1%.
The total number of cases is now 3,860 with 3,565 listed as recovered.
The state's positivity rate is closing in on 5% with a 4.7% 7-day positivity rating as of Saturday morning, and 4.3% 14-day rate. That number has hovered between 4% and 5% for the past 30 days.
Lee County Health Department will be opening up their COVID Hotline number to continue to schedule appointments for the March 30 COVID Vaccination Clinic at the LCHD Offices (#3 John Bennett Drive) in Fort Madison. This includes those who are 64 and under with certain underlying medical conditions. Some of those conditions include: cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD, Down Syndrome, heart conditions (heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies), Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant, obesity, pregnancy, Sickle cell disease, smoking, and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Anyone who falls in that tier, along with those 65 and over, health care workers, first responders, K-12 school staff, child care staff, tier 2 essential workers (food processing, agricultural production, distribution, manufacturing), and individuals with disabilities living in home settings and their direct care staff can call (319) 376-1077 beginning Monday, March 29 from 8:30 a.m. to noon to schedule an appointment.
At Noon the hotline will be closed the remainder of the day. LCHD asks people wanting to make an appointment to only call the COVID Hotline number, to be patient as phone lines will be busy, and to please not call the main office number. After all appointments are filled a message will indicate that. Please do not to leave a message with your information as we are no longer establishing a call back waiting list.
LCHD will continue to update with their website www.leecountyhd.org, their Facebook page, and the media for future clinic time availability.
Other sites to find vaccination opportunities in and around Lee County can be access at the following websites: https://vaccinate.iowa.gov/ and https://www.hy-vee.com/my-pharmacy/covid-vaccine
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