State plans to change how COVID test results are reported

Officials plan to tweak the state health department’s coronavirus website later this week in order to better reflect some of the figures, especially with regards to COVID-19 test results. Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, says home COVID test kits are becoming more popular and cheaper.
At least three products are expected to come online this spring ranging from $25 to $50 and promising test results in just minutes and in the comfort of your home,” Garcia says. “While this is certainly good news for many reasons, the expansion of testing approaches will further limit our ability to monitor all test results at an individual level.” Garcia says the shift from individual tests to total tests on the website means that Iowa’s overall positivity rate will align with total test results. Governor Kim Reynolds says more vaccine is going to be made available to Iowa as of next week. The state’s allotment should climb from nearly 50-thousand doses a week to 62-thousand, an increase of 24-percent.