Lang
4/18/20
Administrators at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics are taking issue with a newspaper report that more than 60 employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
On Friday the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported that 64 employees had tested positive for the coronavirus, including four on Thursday. The newspaper referred to the cases as an “outbreak”, something UIHC officials took issue with in a Friday news release. The release notes that the number does not indicate a recent spike in cases. Instead, UIHC leaders say Friday was the first time they shared with their staff the total number of employees who have self-reported testing positive for COVID-19 to the University Employee Health Center. Hospital officials say this will now be part of their daily reporting of their COVID-19 numbers, which they say provides an additional element of transparency.
UIHC CEO Suresh Gunasekeran told the newspaper the cases are not due to a failure in the hospital’s personal protective equipment strategy. But he conceded that administrators don’t know how or where all the employees were exposed, noting that the virus has been “so prevalent in different parts of the community” that they’re just unclear.
The Friday news release says the UIHC remains one of the safest places in the area to deliver or receive care.