NOVEL CORONAVIRUS & COVID-19
Linn County’s COVID-19 Response
Linn County’s highest priority is the health and well-being of our community. Linn County Public Health, a department within Linn County government, is working closely with Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as local public officials and private partners to plan for prevention, spread, and response to the global outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Everyone is encouraged to follow all Iowa Department of Public Health and CDC guidelines to help prevent contracting or spreading the virus. This site provides links to resources at the federal, state, and local levels and will be updated as needed with the latest updates.
Linn County officials urge all residents to do their part to help slow the spread of COVID-19 by staying home as much as possible, maintaining a physical distance of 6 feet between themselves and others, wearing a cloth face covering in public settings, and washing hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Doing so will help to reduce the spread of the virus, ease the burden on our hospital and healthcare system, and protect those most vulnerable in our community.
This is an evolving situation at the national, state, and local levels. Agencies are working to provide updated information to the public as it becomes available. For general questions, please call 211.
As of Monday, September 28, 2020 an error in the COVID-19 case count dashboard was brought to our attention. Upon further investigation, the issue was identified to be an inflation of the number of individuals recovered. This issue is tied to a change in IDPH's definition that a person is deemed recovered 28 days after onset of COVID-19 symptoms. With this change in direction from IDPH, a date was automatically generated for these cases, which threw off how the data was being pulled into the dashboard for number of active cases, recovered individuals, and number of individuals currently hospitalized for COVID-19. We have since fixed the issue, which has resulted in significant changes in these three metrics in the 24 hours of reporting after the error was fixed.
Holiday Celebration Guidance
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed guidance for upcoming fall and winter holiday celebrations. Linn County Public Health recommends anyone planning for upcoming holiday celebrations review guidance published by CDC and other trusted sources.
Halloween Guidance
Report a COVID-19 Violation in a Food Business
Restaurants and bars are, by order of the governor, required to adhere to social distancing protocols to remain open. Restaurants, bars, and other establishments are not required to enforce mask usage for customers or staff, though it is strongly encouraged. Please do not report an establishment for not requiring mask use.
To report a COVID-19 violation in a food business, visit the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals website.
Status of County Facilities and Services
To protect the health and safety of Linn County employees and the public, Linn County offices are open on an appointment-only basis as part of a phased approach to reopening. However, many County services can be conducted online or remotely through email, mail, our drop boxes, or over the phone. Please contact departments and offices directly to learn how to make an appointment or to find out what services are available remotely, thereby saving you a trip.
Read more about our service modifications designed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and keep employees and customers safe.
Linn County will continue to monitor the evolving COVID-19 situation and adjust County operations and safety measures as needed.
Public Meetings
Non-essential public meetings have been canceled until further notice.
Board of Supervisors meetings are scheduled every Monday and Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. The meetings are streamed live on Linn County’s Facebook page and indexed videos are available on the County’s website after the meeting.
To adhere to social distancing requirements, Linn County employees and the public may participate in the meetings as follows:
- Conference call—telephone number 866-576-7975, access code 218839#
- Email questions or comments prior to or during the meeting to: bd-supervisors@linncounty.org
For questions about meeting accessibility or to request accommodations to attend or to participate in a meeting due to a disability, please contact the Board of Supervisors office at 319-892-5000 or at bd-supervisors@linncounty.org.
Additional Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- FEMA Rumor Control
- State of Iowa COVID-19
- Database of Business Resources (City of Cedar Rapids & The Gazette partnership)
- Database of Resident Resources (City of Cedar Rapids & The Gazette partnership)