Comment on Iowa’s public health apparatus prepared for novel coronavirus outbreak, state official says

Although it’s not possible at this time, the State Hygienic Lab should soon have the capability to test patients for the novel coronavirus that is spreading rapidly across the world, Iowa’s top public health official stated this week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is providing testing kits for COVID-19 to state public health laboratories, including Iowa’s Coralville-based lab, State Epidemiologist and Medical Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health Caitlin Pedati told state senators during a Human Resources Committee meeting Wednesday at the State Capitol.Currently, testing for the respiratory virus can only be done at CDC facilities.