Health officials in Pottawattamie County have reported the their first COVID-19 coronavirus-related death.
On Monday, Pottawattamie County Public Health announced that an older woman, between the ages of 61 and 80, was the county's first coronavirus death. The Health Department says the woman had underlying health conditions and presumably contracted the virus through community spread since she had no contact with any known cases and had not traveled. She was the county’s sixth positive COVID-19 case, testing positive on March 30th. She had been in the ICU since April 7th.
“We are sad to report the first COVID-19 death in Pottawattamie County,” said Matt Wyant with Pottawattamie County Public Health. “The family of this individual is in our thoughts and prayers.”
The Health Department has also reported another positive COVID-19 case, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases for Pottawattamie County up to thirteen. Eight people have recovered and four are self-isolating at home.
Pottawattamie County’s thirteenth COVID-19 case is a female between 61-80 years old and a resident of Council Bluffs. She was tested on April 9th and is currently self-isolating. This individual has pre-existing medical conditions, has not traveled and did not have contact with an existing case. Pottawattamie County Public Health is conducting a contact tracing investigation and is in contact with the Iowa Department of Public Health.
COVID-19 is projected to peak in Iowa around April 30th and the Health Department says they are still emphasizing the importance of continued social distancing, hand washing and disinfecting surfaces.