Washington County had another resident die from COVID-19 overnight Monday into Tuesday. Washington County Public Health states there have been seven deaths in the county due to COVID-19 so far. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, statewide there have been 136 total deaths as of Tuesday.

Washington County Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski said the governor could look at lifting or further extending restrictions based on the data she’s looking at over the next two weeks, “She also did say that they’re going to look at the case counts and see if additional restrictions need to be made, if those 77 counties need to have those restrictions put back on, or if they need to be changed, or if our restrictions need to be extended. So, that’s what we’re looking at right now. We have not yet reached our peak in Iowa; I think we’re about a week or 10 days away from that still. So, I’m not quite sure what we will see in the next week and a half, especially with the loosening of restrictions in three-quarters of the state.”

On Monday, Governor Kim Reynolds announced plans to begin loosening restrictions this Friday, May 1st, in 77 of Iowa’s counties. Washington, Louisa, Johnson, Iowa, and Henry counties are included in the 22 counties that are to continue current restrictions and public health measures through May 15th. People are encouraged to continue social distancing measures, wash hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds, and stay home as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19.