Reynolds announces new TestIowa website to expand COVID-19 testing

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced a new public-private partnership to expand COVID-19 testing in Iowa during her news conference on Tuesday.

A new website, TestIowa.com, has been launched and users can take an online assessment to find out whether or not they should be tested for COVID-19 at this time.

The partnership is between the state of Iowa and companies Qualtrics, Domo, Co-Diagnostics Inc., NomiHealth, RPH Engineering and SafeLane Health.

The goal of TestIowa is to increase COVID-19 testing across the state Reynolds and TestIowa's website said. Drive-through testing sites will be set up around the state in the coming weeks, with the first one opening in Des Moines on Saturday Reynolds said.

Reynolds said the drive-through locations for TestIowa will be able to accommodate up to 3,000 more tests per day than the state is currently conducting. Testing will still be limited which is why users will have to take the assessment. Reynolds said first responders and medical personnel will be prioritized for this testing.

The used tests will be processed at the State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa and results should be available after 72 hours. Reynolds said on Tuesday that the tests will come at 'no cost to the individual.”

Currently, the only other state to implement this type of program is Utah, which roughly has the same population as Iowa, but as of Monday had tested over 68,000 individuals for COVID-19, more than double the amount Iowa has tested so far.

Reynolds said the data entered by individuals who take the assessment on TestIowa.com will be owned by the state of Iowa and will be encrypted. TestIowa's website said the information people provide is protected by HIPAA and will be analyzed until 'this pandemic is deemed ‘over.'”

The website launched on the same day Iowa saw its newest, largest one-day jump of COVID-19 cases. There were 482 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the state on Tuesday for a total of 3,641 cases statewide.

Reynolds said 33% of Tuesday's new cases are from the surveillance of meat-processing facilities with outbreaks in the state. The Iowa Department of Public Heath data shows 107 of Tuesday's new cases were from Black Hawk County, where the Waterloo Tyson meatpacking plant is located.

Iowa also saw four additional deaths due to COVID-19 on Tuesday. Three of the deaths were in Polk County, where Des Moines is located. The other death was in Linn County, the home of Cedar Rapids. Reynolds said all four deaths were related to outbreaks at long-term care facilities. She added that as of Tuesday, 51% of Iowa's deaths due to COVID-19 have been residents at long-term care facilities.

Locally, there were three new cases in Washington County, bringing the county total up to 126. Twenty-five of those confirmed cases are in the McCreedy Home according to IDPH.

Henry County saw two new cases on Tuesday, bringing its total up to 30 and Jefferson County had one new case for seven total cases in the county.