143 long-term care facilities report COVID-19 outbreaks in Iowa – KCCI Des Moines

TURNING TO CORONAVIRUS – TONIGHT, DOCTORS WARN – HOLDING A LARGE FAMILY GATHERING BASED ON NEGATIVE COVID-19 TESTS IS áNOT AS SAFE AS IT SOUNDS. KCCI’S CHRIS GOTHNER IS LIVE AT THE DES MOINES AIRPORT WITH WHY THEY SAY IT BRINGS A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY.. CHRIS? (áááCHRISááá) WELL WE HEARD FROM A FEW PEOPLE HERE WHO GOT A COVID-19 TEST BEFORE THEY FLEW IN OR OUT TO CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING. BUT EXPERTS ARE WARNING — IT IS NOT A TICKET TO ENSURE YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONES AREN’T SPREADING THE VIRUS. <NAT FROM BAGGAGE CLAIM> TONI & KIRIAN BABOURINE <BAB-ER-EEN> PICKED UP THEIR BAGS AND HEADED OFF TO AMES MONDAY. THEY’RE VISITING CENTRAL IOWA FROM SUNNY FLORIDA FOR THANKSGIVING. BUT THE DAY BEFORE THEIR FLIGHT — THEY GOT TESTED FOR COVID-19. <16;32 THEY SAID THE RESULTS ARE 48 TO 72 HOURS. MY MOTHER, SHE’S ABOUT 74, SHE LIVES IN AMES, HAS ASTHMA SO WE’RE GONNA KEEP OUR DISTANCE FROM HER AND WEAR MASKS UNTIL WE GET THE RESULTS. 16;43> WE SPOKE TO A FEW OTHER FLYERS OFF CAMERA — DOING THE SAME THING. <NAT> <5:52 IF YOU ARE GATHERING WITH YOUR FAMILY IT’S BETTER TO DO THAT THAN NOT AT ALL. 5:55> BUT DOCTOR MEGAN SRINIVAS <SHREE-NE-VAHS> , AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST, IS URGING PEOPLE TO áSTAY HOME — EVEN IF THEY DO TEST NEGATIVE. <1:27 IT’S NOT A SAFETY NET. 1:29> AND THERE ARE A FEW REASONS WHY SHE SAYS TESTING & TRAVELING ISN’T A SURE THING. <1:00 YOU CAN GET A FALSE NEGATIVE THAT CAN GIVE YOU A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY. 1:04 WE’VE SEEN WITH THE PCR TEST THE FALSE NEGATIVE RATE CAN BE AS HIGH AS 40 PCT OF THE TIME, ALMOST HALF THE TIME YOU’RE GETTING TESTED. WITH THE ANTIGEN TEST IT’S A LITTLE BIT HIGHER. 1:12> DR. SRINIVAS ALSO POINTS OUT THAT ONE TEST — IS JUST A SNAPSHOT IN TIME. <2:01 YOU COULD BE IN THE INCUBATION PERIOD. YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXPOSED ON WHAT WE CALL DAY ZERO AND THEN IT TAKES UNTIL DAY SEVEN UNTIL YOU WOULD HAVE ENOUGH VIRUS IN YOUR SYSTEM TO BE POSITIVE ON THESE TESTS. AND ON DAY 6 YOU GOT TESTED AND YOU WERE NEGATIVE, BUT DAY SEVEN YOU’RE VERY CONTAGIOUS AND YOU JUST DON’T KNOW IT. 2:14> AND SHE SAYS YOU CAN ALSO GET áINFECTED áAFTER GETTING áTESTED. <3:06 IT’S JUST NOT WORTH THE RISK. 3:07 AND YOU HAVE SO MANY MORE THANKSGIVINGS TO COME AFTER THIS IF WE CAN KEEP EVERYBODY SAFE. 3:12> (áááCHRISááá) THE BABOURINES TOLD US THEY UNDERSTAND THE RISKS BUT STILL FEEL IT’S SAFE BECAUSE THEY’VE LIMITED CONTACT WITH OTHERS — SAVE FOR OTHER TRAVELERS. DR. SRINIVAS REALLY ADVISES FAMILIES DO A áVIRTUAL THANKSGIVING THIS YEAR THOUGH. A NUMBER OF VIDEOCONFERENCING COMPANIES, INCLUDING ZOOM, ARE LIFTING TIME LIMITS ON THANKSGIVI