As cases of the novel coronavirus continue to spread across the United States, including several confirmed cases in Iowa, the federal government has devoted a great deal of resources towards curbing the spread of the illness.

Congress recently passed a bill allocating $8.3 billion in supplemental funding to combat the spread of COVID-19, which was signed by the President. For Iowans, that means an estimated $200 million in resources, as requested by Governor Kim Reynolds. While visiting Perry last week Senator Joni Ernst (R) discussed how state and federal governments are working together to fight coronavirus. “So we now have the funding (and) the resources necessary, should the states need to draw down on that. And I had spoken with Governor Reynolds over the phone, just talking through some of the challenges that Iowa was going to have. And as a Governor’s Association, all of those governors had been asked to compile lists of what they thought they would need and costs associated with that. And so now we have the funding resources available for governors to pull those resources into their states to respond to coronavirus as needed.”

Ernst points out that in the U.S. influenza has been considerably more deadly than the coronavirus, though she adds that the precautions needed to prevent the spread of the viruses are similar. She advises people to wash their hands thoroughly and to stay home if feeling ill. There is currently no vaccine for COVID-19, and due to its highly contagious nature a worldwide health emergency has resulted from its spread.