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The COVID-19 outbreak continued to drastically affect the lives of local residents this past week, with schools cancelling classes for four weeks, universities moving fully online for the rest of the semester, and bars and restaurants being forced to close dining rooms and only offer carry-out and delivery services.

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus have soared in the past week, with a total of 68 in Iowa, including the first confirmed case in Story County, the governors announced Saturday.

Residents have been told to work remotely from home if they can, restrict gatherings to groups of no more than 10, and churches have canceled services, with many offering livestream service to parishioners. CyRide is limiting the number of riders on each bus to nine.

The changes we saw this past week left many residents and local business leaders stunned.

You can prepare for somethings, you can prepare for expenses that you know are coming, but instances like this honestly you really only have a matter of weeks to prepare, Andy McCormick, the owner of Torrent Brewing Company in Ames said.

On Tuesday morning, Gov. Kim Reynolds declared a state of emergency, ordering the closing of bars, restaurants, movie theaters, casinos, places of mass gatherings and senior citizen and adult day care centers as a response to the continued spread of COVID-19.

Right now were shocked, said Justin Kabrick, the owner of Dublin Bay Bar & Grill, which canceled its popular St. Patricks Day celebration.

Many churches have gone to streaming platforms such as Facebook live last Sunday, in what some pastors called an unprecedented event.

Its a wild time Im trying to think of how to put it into words, said Mark Vance, the lead pastor at Cornerstone Church. This is unlike any situation Ive ever had to try and lead through in my time in ministry, which is over a decade, and its something we havent seen in generations in the church.

St. Cecilias Catholic Church is not moving towards online streaming services, but live streams of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque will be available as well as channel 23s showing of Sunday mass, which is available on any TV that has an HD antenna, Father Jim Secora said.

Local fitness centers, public offices such as City Hall, county offices and the Ames Community Center have also been shut down until further notice. Even North Grand Mall has been affected as some of its stores have closed.

Iowa State University announced Wednesday that it was moving all classes to online only the rest of the semester and canceling spring commencement.

We regret that Iowa State must also cancel spring commencement ceremonies for undergraduates, graduate students, and veterinary medicine students, ISU wrote in an email to university students and community on Wednesday. Campus leaders are working on plans for a live-streamed graduation address in May.

Students attending the university had mixed feelings on the decision, and although the outcome was predictable, it is still disappointing to some seniors who wanted to walk on stage and receive their degree.

I knew was going to happen, because Wartburg just got shut down, Megan Stonewall a senior studying materials engineering said. I kind of saw coming, even though I didnt want it, because my senior design class is all medium people meeting up. So Im very sad. But I dont know how else to react to it, so Im just kind of chillin.

Even local business owners empathized with students about the change in their academic lives.

Everyones in a good mood and looking at celebrating achievements of their graduate, McCormick said. Just the other day I was thinking I feel terrible for the students.

The cancellation of commencement at Iowa State University, an annual celebration that brings thousands of people to the community, will be a hard hit for local businesses, especially hotels, local tourism officials said.

Kevin Bourke the president and CEO of Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau said that hotels generally bring at least a half of million dollars of revenue on that weekend alone.

Its tough to say; we can look at just hotel revenue, just people staying overnight is well over a half million dollars, but that doesnt count all the food and non-overnight visitors, Bourke said. So theres a lot of revenue that can be lost just in the celebration of graduation.

Law Enforcement

For local law enforcement, changes they have made are intended to keep the public, and local officers and deputies safe.

Were trying to do what we can to make sure we keep our people and the community healthy, Ames Police Cmdr. Jason Tuttle said. The last thing we want to do is have a couple of our people contract this virus we would be in a very difficult position if we had to quarantine.

If that unlikely scenario were to happen all of the agencies in Story County have been in constant communication and are ready to assist other agencies if needed, Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald said.

To help slow the spread of the coronavirus, officers are sanitizing patrol vehicles, and hand sanitizier is readily available.

All the agencies are limiting their number of non-life threatening medical calls they respond to, and asking people being apprehended how they are feeling, and screening them to see whether they may or may not have COVID-19.

If theres any indication that (someone) might be a little warm or have a temperature when they get to jail, well have their temperature taken before getting in the facility. If its over 100 degrees they will be put into a quarantine cell where nurses will come and administer tests to the individual, Fitzgerald said.

If an officer is dispatched, they may be wearing extra protective equipment like gloves or masks and will be adhering to social distancing guidelines.

Medical Professionals

Restrictions on visitors by Mary Greeley were enhanced, minor surgeries have been postponed and a COVID-19 nurse line was launched.

Professionals at McFarland Clinic launched a triage COVID-19 nurse line to assist patients who are experiencing symptoms and have had known contact with someone who has been tested.

We created a coronavirus triage line, so if (community members) are worried about it they can call the (specific number) and go through a dedicated nurse who will help guide them to the next steps, Dan Fulton, McFarlands infectious disease specialist said. Those next steps will depend on how much of the infection were seeing in the community, where is the best place for that patient to get the care we need.

The line is open from 8 a.m until 5 p.m. daily and is: 515-500-677. The Iowa Department of Public Health has a similar line 2-1-1.

Hopes within McFarland are that calls to this direct line will eliminate COVID-19 questions to their clinics, allowing other patients not experiencing a cough, fever or shortness of breath to create an appointment, or speak to their medical provider, said Shelley Goecke, director of marketing and public relations for McFarland Clinic.

Looking forward

Despite the uncertainty of how long the changes were seeing will be in place, some say the community is handling the unprecedented situation well.

I think our community (has done) a phenomenal job in reacting to the whole pandemic, Dan Culhane, the president and CEO of the Ames Chamber of Commerce said.

Although peoples lives have been drastically changed, optimism about the future remains, and some believe Ames will be even stronger when the crisis passes.

All of us in Ames are going to experience a change in business, but we will bounce back. Ames is growing. There is a lot to do and see here for people in town and those traveling to Ames, Bonnie Alley, the general manager of Comfort Inn & Suites and Sleep Inn & Suites in Ames said.

See the rest here:
COVID-19: The week in review - Ames Tribune

This entry was posted on March 22, 2020 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Veterinary Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |