COVID-19 Compilation September 28, 2020 Iowa At 10 a.m. Monday, the state was reporting 1,317 COVID-19-related deaths, an increase of two deaths since the state's tally at 10 a.m. Sunday, according to the state's Coronavirus.Iowa.gov website. The state was reporting at 10 a.m. Monday that there are 86,840 confirmed cases of coronavirus, an increase of 611 since 10 a.m. Sunday. The state has been changing how it reports testing data, which has caused spikes in the rate of positive data. Before the changes, the state was consistently reporting a positivity rate, that is, the percentage of tests that were positive, below 10%. Iowa also is now counting the results of antigen tests, a relatively rapid type of coronavirus tests, that will increase the reported rates of infection in some counties. On Monday, the state was reporting 11.0% positive since the pandemic started. Of the tests the state has reported since 10 a.m. Sunday, 8.3% were positive, according to a Des Moines Register analysis. Iowa's 14-day average was 9.0% positive, according to the state. These were the Iowa counties that had 14-day averages above 15%: Sioux (29.6%); Lyon (26.0%); Henry (24.5%); Osceola (24.4%); Crawford (19.0%); Plymouth (18.0%); Fremont (18.0%); Delaware (17.2%); Sac (16.8%); Dubuque (16.3%); Woodbury (15.5%); Palo Alto (15.4%) O'Brien (15.4%); Winnebago (15.1%). Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered that at least 50% of instruction at Iowa schools must be held in person. For K-12 schools to be considered for a state waiver allowing for online-only instruction, districts must have an 10% absentee rate and the county they are located in must have a 14-day coronavirus average of at least 15%. Of the 86,840 people who have tested positive, 66,191 have recovered, according to the state. The total number of people tested is 786,014, including 7,315 on Sunday. On Monday, the state was reporting 353 hospitalizations, up from 343 on Sunday. In the past 24 hours, 51 patients have been admitted. Also, there are 96 patients in the ICU, up/ from 89 on Sunday. Washington, D.C. House Democrats released an updated version of the Heroes Act, their $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. The text of revised version of The Heroes Act is here. A one-pager on the legislation is here. A section-by- section summary is here. Additional information on the state and local relief provisions is here. President Trump announced today that the federal government will ship 100 million rapid coronavirus tests to states by the end of the year. The first shipment of around 6.5 million tests will be divided and sent this week. The amount each state receives will be based on population data. President Trump and HHS testing czar Brett Giroir are encouraging state leaders to use the tests to help schools reopen, but governors will ultimately be in charge of deciding how to use the rapid tests they receive. Tomorrow at 12:00 PM, the FDA, NIOSH, and OSHA will host a webinar on Respirators and Other PPE for Health Care Personnel Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The FDA has announced a clinical hold on INOVIO's COVID-19 vaccine trials as the Agency has additional questions about the CELLECTRA® 2000 delivery device used in the trial. The hold is not the result of any adverse outcomes during the ongoing Phase 1 portion of INOVIO's study, and INOVIO and its partners are continuing to prepare for a planned Phase 2/3 trial of INO-4800. The FDA will host the last in their series of virtual Town Halls for clinical laboratories and commercial manufacturers that are developing or have developed diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2. The purpose of this Town Hall is to help answer technical questions about the development and validation of tests for SARS- CoV-2. The FDA will also hold virtual Town Halls for clinical laboratories and commercial manufacturers to help answer questions on: o September 30, 12:15 PM The CDC updated their guidance today on how to select, wear, and clean your mask. CDC's MMWR published an early release new article COVID-19 Trends Among School-Aged Children — United States, March 1–September 19, 2020. The findings indicate that children with underlying conditions are more likely to experience severe effects of COVID-19, but also that teens are more likely to contract COVID-19 than younger children. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a hearing on Wednesday titled, "Pathway to a Vaccine: Ensuring a Safe and Effective Vaccine People Will Trust.” You can view the witness panel here. A memo will be available upon request. Friday, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis will hold a hybrid hearing with HHS Sec. Alex Azar on the Department’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. A memo will also be available upon request for this hearing. Updates from the States Out of the cases under investigation detected by U.S. surveillance, there are 7,095,422 total cases and 204,328 deaths The CDC data closes out the day before reporting. State officials in Minnesota have reported that a public health survey on the impact of COVID-19 has been halted after several incidents in which surveyors of color were intimidated or called racial slurs. The surveyors, who are conducting this work in person, have faced armed threats, verbal harassment, and have even been followed or videotaped. CDC's Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response survey, or CASPER survey, was scheduled to run between Sept. 14 and Sept. 30 and was meant to help public health officials understand the spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota. Almost half of U.S. states are reporting increased numbers of new COVID-19 cases as health experts warn of a potential coronavirus surge in the fall and winter. According to the latest Johns Hopkins University data: 21 states are showing an upward trend in cases compared to the previous week, 19 states are showing steady trends, and 10 states are showing downward trends. After months of promising signs in its fight against the coronavirus, New York State today reported a spike in its rate of new cases, including a rise in New York City and in its northern suburbs. The rate of positive test results in the city reached 1.93 percent, according to Mayor, an increase from the 1.5 percent rate reported by the city a week ago. Authorities in North Dakota are trying to ease concerns over hospital capacity as the state grapples with the country’s steepest current surge in coronavirus cases. Wisconsin reported 2,817 new cases on Saturday, the state's highest single-day increase in cases. The previous record was set Sept. 18 with 2,533 cases. Missouri again reported record-high COVID-19 hospitalizations. There were 1,125 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 across Missouri on Sunday, the highest number the state has reported since the start of the pandemic. Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran has ordered Miami-Dade County Public Schools to fully open its buildings five days a week by Oct. 5. That’s more than two weeks earlier than the system, the fourth-largest in the country, had decided to do after a marathon 29-hour meeting last week. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed an EO extending the state’s public health emergency. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed an EO requiring face coverings for students in grades K-5 and also signed an EO amending the MI Safe Start order to reopen movie theaters and performance venues. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) extended a proclamation related to the Washington residency requirement for public university tuition waivers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 17 counties in Illinois are considered to be at a warning level for COVID-19. Citing "sufficient progress in the fight against COVID-19," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the easing of phase four guidelines for businesses starting Oct. 1. A Maryland man was sentenced to a year in jail for holding two large parties and violating the state's order against large gatherings, according to the Charles County state's attorney's office. Useful state data: o Use Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 U.S. map as a resource for media, policymakers, and communities to view a collection of critical public health data in one online destination and better understand and track the COVID-19 pandemic in populations both large and small across the country. o NASHP has developed a COVID-19 State Action Center which serves as a state-level policy dashboard. Governing is also keeping a running tally of coronavirus news and impacts at the intersection of the health and economic crises in the states and localities. o This site from the Kaiser Family Foundation provides state-level information on cases/deaths, social distancing measures, health policy actions, and more. o This series of maps shows how states are responding to COVID-19, and this tracker, created and maintained by MultiState Associates, has an up-to-date list of executive orders and various travel restrictions. Military/Defense Last week, SOUTHCOM donated a field hospital to Jamaica to support its response to COVID-19. Overall, the U.S. has provided Jamaica $2 million and the whole region $17 million in supplies and other resource to assist in COVID-19 response.