Iowa surpassed the 1,000 mark for COVID-19 hospitalized patients over the weekend. As of Sunday, there were 1,034 hospitalized patients, 184 people were in intensive care and 82 were on ventilators. Washington County has had 857 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 12 deaths, and 550 people have recovered, as of Sunday.

Washington County Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski encourages people to think about safe ways to celebrate the upcoming holidays even if it means scaling down from tradition, “We’re going to see increasing hospitalizations, increasing deaths following this uptick of cases. So, I know it’s really sad to think about not having holidays like we would normally have holidays, but I think what we decide to do now will determine who is still here at Christmas, who we still have the opportunity to celebrate with next year. And I don’t say that to be an alarmist, I say that because I think it’s practical, and we really need to be making these considerations.”

She says if people are setting their holiday plans now, they should limit the number invited to 10 or fewer, gather outdoors if possible, make sure the location has enough space for people to spread out, determine a seating plan ahead of time to keep six feet of distance between each household. If indoors, open windows to improve airflow and wear masks while together. When dishing up food, have a designated person serve all of the food, avoid shared serving utensils. Make sure to have paper towels, hand soap, and hand sanitizer available. If anyone is feeling the slightest bit ill, or someone is awaiting test results, or has been exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19, then stay home.

People are encouraged daily to wear masks in public, wash hands frequently, social distance, avoid large gatherings, and stay home when ill.