Iowa Buys Hundreds of Ventilators to Prep For Another COVID-19 Wave

Things seem to be slowly getting back to normal in the state. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds lifted more restrictions this week taking away the 50 percent capacity limit for businesses, that goes into effect tomorrow, Friday, June 12. Although, social distancing measures will still be enforced at certain businesses.

Just because businesses are slowly starting to open back up to normal operations, and more people will be going out after spending months in quarantine, that doesn't mean that the coronavirus has gone away. We are still in this pandemic. In fact, we could see another wave of cases. Just this morning another outbreak was reported at a long-term care facility in Marion.

Due to the looming chance of another major wave of the coronavirus hitting the area, Iowa has purchased hundreds of more ventilators. According to KCRG, the state purchased $10.3 million in ventilators to "stockpile" for coronavirus patients. The report states that records show the contract to purchase these ventilators was signed by Iowa's executive branch back on March 30.

More ventilators are on the way, but it may not seem too necessary at this point. Some hospitals are making efforts to get people off of the machines. UnityPoint for instance, is using nasal therapy to get patients off of ventilators. Also, KCRG reports that the demand for ventilators has dropped and over 700 are currently available statewide. Even though there may not be the demand for them now, that doesn't mean that we couldn't see a spike in COVID-19 cases in the coming months.

It's better to be safe and prepared, than sorry.