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COVID-19

Board of Health passes mask mandate with penalties

The Board of Health passed a mask mandate regulation Thursday afternoon, to be sent for approval to Webster County Supervisors, that includes civil penalty provisions for businesses that allow customers to enter without masks. The regulation, passed three to one, would impose fines of up to $750 for the first offense and up to $1,000 for subsequent offenses for businesses acting in bad faith that allow customers or clients to refuse to wear masks, under most circumstances. Supervisor Mark Campbell, a member of the board, was the sole dissenting vote. The new regulation will take ...

Tracing COVID contacts

For a COVID-19 contact tracer, every phone call is different. A contact tracer may be using the same worksheet form and may be asking the same questions, but each conversation they have with individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and those who had close contact with a positive ...

Webster Co. cases, deaths double in last month

It took Webster County nearly eight months to reach 2,000 COVID-19 cases, but about one month to gain the last 2,000 cases, leaving the total caseload doubled at over 4,000 now. On Oct. 28, the county had 1,940 cases. On Monday, Webster County Public Health (WCPH) said the total had increased to 4,034. In the same month, the death toll more than doubled, surging from 15 to 35. With an exponential nature, November’s statistics continue to gallop at breakneck speed after Thanksgiving. With 167 new cases since Friday alone, the county’s positivity rate remains high at 22.7%. A total ...

200 new COVID-19 cases since Monday

Webster County saw an increase of 203 additional COVID-19 positive cases between Monday and Wednesday, according to the Webster County Public Health Department. The new cases bring the county’s cumulative total to 3,867, with 348 cases current open and in isolation. “We have had more than 200 positive tests since Monday morning,” said Kelli Bloomquist, Webster County Public Health public information officer. “We need residents to take this virus seriously in order to protect our communities and local health care systems. The risk of contracting COVID-19 is extraordinary right ...

Hy-Vee installs cart sanitizers

With community spread of COVID-19 rising in Webster County, one local grocery store is taking extra steps to limit possible points of exposure in its store. Last week, Hy-Vee installed two Sterile Cart sanitizer machines at each entrance to the store. “It’s a nice machine that we ...

Where to get tested for COVID-19 in Webster County

Webster County Public Health would like to make sure everyone has all the necessary information for receiving testing for COVID-19. WCPH is not a testing site. The department analyzes and acts on the testing information provided by medical providers and then provides CDC guidance and contact tracing. In Fort Dodge, there are three options for COVID-19 testing. Individuals can call the Community Health Center for urgent, routine or rapid testing. Call 515-576-6500 to make an appointment. Iowa Specialty Clinic — Fort Dodge offfers COVID-19 rapid testing for patients who are ...