State of Iowa public health officials are changing the way that COVID-19 deaths are counted and categorized, which increased the total number of people who have died from the disease.

The Iowa Department of Public Health said that it was making the change after consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making the state’s publicly-released data more consistent with the standards the CDC uses in its reporting.

The new method of record keeping by state officials will count it if a person’s underlying cause of death or a contributing factor. There were 25 total deaths reported in Marion County since the beginning of the pandemic, with 20 directly attributed to the virus and the other five individuals losing their lives had COVID-19 as a contributing factor. According to the State of Iowa Coronavirus database, 92% of fatalities due to the novel coronavirus were considered to have pre-existing health conditions.

Several area schools are adjusting to new quarantine guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Iowa Department of Public Health and Marion County Public Health.

The updates include more options for families to consider when their child has been deemed a close contact and is required to quarantine from school. The Pella Community School District revised quarantine policy to reflect these guidelines:

14 Day Quarantine – CDC states this is the best option to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.

10 Day Quarantine – MUST MEET ALL CRITERIA FOR RETURN
– Symptom free for the entire 10 days.
– Continue to monitor for symptoms through day 14 post-exposure.
– IF SYMPTOMS DEVELOP, ISOLATE AND CONTACT MARION COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH OR YOUR DOCTOR FOR TESTING.
– Wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet from others, wash hands, avoid crowds and high risk individuals through day 14 post-exposure.

7 Day Quarantine – MUST MEET ALL CRITERIA FOR RETURN
– Symptom free for a total of 7 days.
– Negative COVID-19 test results IF the test is taken on or after day 5 of exposure.
– Results MUST be presented to a school nurse prior to return (either paper copy or electronic).
– Continue to monitor through day 14 post-exposure.
– IF SYMPTOMS DEVELOP, ISOLATE AND CONTACT MARION COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH OR YOUR DOCTOR FOR TESTING
– Wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet from others, wash hands, avoid crowds and high risk individuals through day 14 post-exposure

The same policy has been adopted by Pella Christian Schools. Read more about their guidelines here.

At a special school board meeting Monday afternoon, the PCM district opted to continue in-person learning. The next regular school board meeting will be held Monday, December 21. If the numbers in Jasper County reach 20% positivity and the district absentee rates reach 7%, another special board meeting will be called to discuss learning options or will be called at the superintendent’s discretion.