John Paschen, Story County Public Health director, said Iowans need to keep their guard and masks up as the state sees a spike in positive cases. 

At 6:45 p.m., the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 378,180 positive tests and 349,883 confirmed cases. Total deaths for Iowa have reached 5,729. 

Paschen said similarly to last year, there was an expectation for cases to increase around spring break, it is just a matter of time to tell the extent. Story County currently accounts for 10,682 positive cases. 

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds pulled back on COVID-19 mitigations in her most recent coronavirus emergency proclamation, but this doesn’t mean the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Story County Board of Public Health have.

“This is kind of a critical time now because if we continue to keep our mitigation measures up, continue to be careful and get people the vaccines, we can actually have a normal summer,” Paschen said.

The increase in cases occurs as Reynolds announced vaccines are expected to open up for the public April 5, but the availability will depend on supply. Paschen said there isn’t much to do outside of continuing to follow the recommendations from the CDC.

“By all means, and I mean by all means, if you have the availability to get a COVID vaccine, you take that vaccine,” Paschen said.

Nonessential travel is still not recommended by the CDC and Paschen said if the spread continues, there is a likelihood things will remain shut down through the summer.

The increase in cases for the state is mirrored in Iowa State’s recent COVID-19 positive case numbers. In mid-March, Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen announced the school intends to return to in-person learning and campus events for the 2021-2022 school year. 

Paschen said while the vaccine is a game changer, there were also increases seen in 2020 leading up to the summer.

“We get sloppy at this time, there is a chance we are not going to have a normal summer,” Paschen said.