Black Hawk County health officials are fighting another battle in their effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Outbreaks among residents and staff at three long-term care facilities in Waterloo and Cedar Falls have accounted for nearly 90 cases of COVID-19 in the county and multiple deaths. Cases of the coronavirus spiked in Black Hawk County in recent weeks after an outbreak at a Tyson pork plant in Waterloo.
As of Monday, 29 Black Hawk County residents had died of COVID-19. County Sheriff Tony Thompson had lobbied Tyson and Governor Reynolds to close the plant. “It breaks my heart and it infuriates me to know that as we fall back to deal with the fallout of the failures of corporate greed and governmental ignorance, that more and more citizens fall victim to this virus as a result,” he said yesterday.
The CEO of Friendship Village Retirement Community in Waterloo announced on Facebook Monday night that 16 residents and 20 employees have tested positive and seven residents have died of COVID-19. State officials have reported 62 cases at the Harmony House in Waterloo and 11 at NewAldaya Lifescapes in Cedar Falls.
(By Elwin Huffman, KOEL, Oelwein & Iowa Public Radio’s Kate Payne/logo from BH County website)
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