The Gazette Daily News Podcast

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Thursday, November 12.

Most of Thursday will be spent slow-building up to a small chance of rain. According to the National Weather Service, there will be a high of 53 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area with increasing winds and clouds as the day goes on. This will lead up to a 20 percent chance of rain Thursday night, and some moderate winds, before the clouds part with the arrival of cooler air.

To put this week’s spread of COVID-19 in Iowa in perspective, in calmer times this year more than 2,500 cases in a day was only seen after a statistical anomaly due to a counting change on one day, and hospitals would average about 200-300 patients being treated for the virus. This week we have had more than 4,000 new positive cases for COVID-19 on five consecutive days and the state had more than 200 patients being treated in intensive care alone Wednesday, among nearly 1,200 total hospitalizations for the disease.

The latest report on Iowa this past Sundayfrom the White House Coronavirus Task Force decried an “unyielding” spread of the virus across Iowa that needs “immediate action.” It pointed out that Iowa’s per capita rate of new cases — 621 per 100,000 people — is far higher than the national average of 209 new cases per 100,000 people. And, if you haven’t noticed, the nation as a whole isn’t doing so great with COVID-19 lately either.

Two days after that Sunday report, Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered new requirements Tuesday for masks and gatherings that are far looser than what the task force said is needed in Iowa.

There are some further restrictions on state high school football attendance as a result of COVID-19. After a Wednesday meeting with multiple agencies, the Iowa High School Athletic Association has decided to further restrict attendance at the state football semifinals, according to a document released to The Gazette.

Due to increased COVID-19 positivity rates in Black Hawk County, seating capacity is now limited to 2,400 per game, which is roughly 15-percent capacity of the UNI-Dome. The decision was made after IHSAA officials met with representatives from UNI, Black Hawk County Public Health, the Iowa Department of Education and the governor’s office. Fans will be required to wear masks.

Wednesday’s news is more restrictive than https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/iowa-prep-sports/football/iowa-high-school-state-football-games-covid-attendance-uni-dome-20201110 (Tuesday), when the governor’s office and the IHSAA considered the UNI-Dome an “outdoor venue” and that attendance could be capped around 7,000.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa led in the U.S. House 2 race by 47 votes over Democrat Rita Hart of Wheatland. This makes it one of the closest race margins for this year or any year. More than 394,000 votes were cast in the race for who succeeds U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack of Iowa City, a Democrat who is retiring after six terms in Congress. The district has long been considered a safe Democratic hold in Iowa, one which Miller-Meeks has failed to win several times, but no-party voters turned heavily toward Republican candidates this year as well as supporting President Donald Trump in his win in Iowa.

A recount is expected, with the potential for the winner to be determined by the end of the month. Could the final margin get even closer? We’ll have to see.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Wednesday, November 11.

It will remain cool Wednesday, but at least we will get a break from the wind and the rain. According to the National Weather Service, it will be sunny with a high near 48 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. Wednesday night it will be mostly clear, with a low of 32 degrees.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds implemented https://idph.iowa.gov/Portals/1/userfiles/61/covid19/resources/Summary%20of%20Enhanced%20Public%20Health%20Measures.pdf (new emergency restrictions) Tuesday — including a mandate to wear masks at large public gatherings — designed to slow a surge in COVID-19 cases that threatens to overwhelm Iowa’s health care system and force more schools to switch temporarily to online learning.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic I have said that I’d dial mitigation measures back up when conditions warrant and that time is now,” the governor told a news conference.

The public health disaster emergency proclamation, which will be in effect for 30 days starting first thing Wednesday, places additional “targeted” restrictions on social, community, leisure and recreational events.

For any such gathering of 10 people or more, there must be 6 feet of social distancing between groups. The groups should be limited to eight people, unless members are from the same family. If an indoor event exceeds 25 people — or an outdoor event exceeds 100 people — all over age 2 must wear a mask except when eating and drinking, or the gatherings are prohibited. Despite these new rules, however, Reynolds did not impose any broader statewide mask mandate, still maintaining that such an act would not be enforceable. Law officers are to “educate and inform” violators of the mask requirement before issuing simple misdemeanor citations as “a last resort,” she said.

School districts in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and Marion joined other local school districts in applying for 2-week waivers to the state’s insistence on teaching classes in person. This would allow them to go to online only instruction through the end of the month, skipping over the Thanksgiving holiday that worries many health experts.

The state added 4,425 new virus cases in the 24-hour period as of Tuesday at 11 a.m., according to data analyzed by The Gazette. The number is the second-highest ever, behind 4,706 on Nov. 4. With 8,876 test results being reported, the state’s positivity rate over 24 hours is 49.85 percent.

Hospitalization numbers continue to surge in Iowa. The number of individuals hospitalized due to COVID-19 across the state went from 1,034 to 1,135, another record and the first time net hospitalizations increased by more than 100 in the 24-hour period.

27 people also were reported as dying from the virus over this time period, the second highest total of deaths recorded since the pandemic began.

After another error was discovered, another 4,000-plus ballots will be recounted in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District race. After this latest correction, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks has now swung back into having the majority of the votes, with a mere 47 votes separating her from Democrat Rita Hart. After this second targeted recount, it is likely that whomever is behind will request a formal recount of the nearly 400,000 votes cast in the race.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Tuesday, November 10.

The sunny and warm weather the past week was nice while it lasted, but it’s going to get colder and sometimes rainy the rest of this week.

According to the National Weather Service, rain with a possibility of thunderstorms will arrive Tuesday morning in the Cedar Rapids area and continue off and on throughout the day. The high is predicted to be 53 degrees, but it may linger in the forties. In addition to being cool and wet, it will be breezy, with a 15 mph wind gusting as high as 25 mph.

As COVID-19 sweeps throughout the nation, Iowa is no exception.

More than 1,000 Iowans are being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals across the state — the highest number recorded since the start of the pandemic. Iowa hospitals were treating 1,034 patients for the disease in the 24-period ending at 11 a.m. Monday, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health,

Iowa also reported 4,055 new positive COVID-19 cases Monday. It is the fourth-highest 24-hour total recorded so far, and brings the state’s total to 156,842. The four highest 24-hour totals recorded since the pandemic started have all been reported in November.

The Iowa Department of Corrections announced that a 70-year-old inmate at the Anamosa State Penitentiary has died of COVID-19. The Anamosa prison is one of several correctional facilities in Iowa experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, with 485 inmates and 50 prison staffers having tested positive for COVID-19 as of Monday.

The Anamosa School District announced last week it was transitioning classes online in response to skyrocketing cases in the county. The Clear Creek Amana Community School District moved to virtual learning for all students Monday and Tuesday and is applying for a two week virtual learning waiver, and Excelsior Middle School in the Linn-Mar School District has also applied for a waiver. In both cases, the school districts reported having staffing shortages due to COVID-19 infections.

Iowa’s second U.S. Congressional District race is one of the closest elections in the nation, and that is why, a week after the election, the final result is still unclear. Initial results on election night had Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks up by 282 votes over Democrat Rita Hart.

But after an adjustment correcting a tabulating error out of Jasper County, Hart overtook Miller-Meeks with a lead of 162 votes out of more than 393,700 cast. The lead changed slightly over the weekend to a 163-vote lead after the countywide recount.

The most recent numbers now have Hart leading by 152 votes out of 393,895 cast in the 24-county district, after additional absentee and provisional ballots were counted. By state law, Miller Meeks can request a recount at no charge to her because the margin of victory is a mere 0.04 percentage points.

County election boards must complete the official canvass of votes in each count by the end of Tuesday. Campaigns then have three days after the canvass to request a recount.

This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, November 9th.

For your weather today, enjoy one more day in the 70s before temps take a dive for the rest of the week. It should be mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. Breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Expect rain tonight, with thunderstorms also possible after 3 a.m. The low will be around 50.

Democrat Joe https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/who-is-winning-2020-presiential-election-biden-trump-vote-count-pennsylvania-georgia-nevada-results-20201107 (Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States) on Saturday. His victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots. Biden crossed 270 Electoral College votes with a win in Pennsylvania. Trump refused to concede, threatening further legal action on ballot counting. Kamala Harris also made history as the first Black woman to become vice president. The California senator, who is also the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency, will become the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in government.

Iowa continued amassing new COVID-19 cases Sunday, https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/coronavirus-iowa-record-numbers-covid-19-20201108 (surpassing 150,000 infections on the eight-month anniversary of the virus being confirmed) in the state. The 4,270 new cases added in the 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Sunday was the third-highest tally yet — with the other two high points reached this month also. Linn County added 386 of those cases — its second-highest — and Johnson County added 123. A record number of school-age children up to age 17 were confirmed with the virus during the 24-hour period: 449 new cases for a total of 12,928.

After two frustrating, close losses to start a Big Ten-only 2020 season, the Iowa Hawkeyes emphatically got on track Saturday with https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/hawkeyes/iowa-football/iowa-vs-michigan-state-score-updates-20201107 (a 49-7 win over Michigan State). Iowa took a 21-0 lead on two Tyler Goodson touchdown runs and a 14-yard Spencer Petras pass to Brandon Smith, then really blew the game open with other elements in the final two minutes of the opening half. Charlie Jones returned a punt 54 yards for a TD, then Riley Moss returned Iowa's third interception of the half 54 yards to the end zone 16 seconds later to make it 35-0. Mekhi Sargent added two rushing touchdowns in the second half.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for the weekend of November 7 and November 8.

The next three days are predicted to be the last three nice weather days before we crash back to colder and sometimes rainy weather. So try and enjoy it while you can. According to the National Weather Service, it should be sunny with a high near 73 degrees Saturday in the Cedar Rapids area. It will be somewhat windy, with winds of 10 to 15 mph gusting as high as 30 mph. On Saturday night it will be mostly clear with a low around 55 degrees and the wind calming a bit. Sunday then is predicted to be quite similar, mostly sunny with a high near 74 degrees and again moderate breeziness. On Sunday night there will be a low of 60 degrees, with partly cloudy skies and a low of around 60 degrees.

As of Saturday morning we still do not have a formal declaration for the next President of the United States, but trends seem to be pointing to that being resolved perhaps sometime this weekend. As mail-in ballots continue to be counted, former Vice President Joe Biden continued to gain ground in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada, while holding on to a vote majority in Arizona. Biden would need either a win in Pennsylvania or a combination of the other three states to reach the presidency, while incumbent President Donald Trump would need to reverse his fortunes dramatically to win the election.

This current state of the vote count was reflected in the approach of both campaigns Friday, with President Trump issuing a statement that he would challenge the voting results in several states and former Vice President Joe Biden saying in a televised speech that he would win the election and emphasizing the need for reconciliation after the votes are finally counted.

Speaking of counting in a close election, there will be a recount in an Iowa congressional race with razor thin margins. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said Friday that 19,000 ballots will be recounted, including nearly 600 by hand in one precinct, in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District election, before the race can be certified next week. Republican Marianette Miller-Meeks ended the night on election night with a lead of 282 with all precincts reporting. However, after a voting error was corrected in Jesup County, Democrat Rita Hart led with 162 votes prior to the recount.

Iowa’s coronavirus numbers continue their worrying upward trajectory, a trend being seen across the country as well. Iowa on Friday reported more than 900 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa — the 12th consecutive record-breaking day for coronavirus hospitalizations in the state.

As of 11 a.m. Friday, 912 Iowans were in the hospital, with 164 of them admitted in the previous 24 hours.

The number of patients in intensive care remained at 88, a record. Patients on ventilators to help them breathe increased from 60 to 67. Statewide, 3,393 new COVID-19 cases were reported Friday, the second-highest total since the pandemic began, only behind Thursday’s record of 4,706 cases.

Jones County is reporting a sudden spike in cases, as the state penitentiary in Anamosa reported 476 COVID-19 cases for inmates and 37 for staffers. The Anamosa School District has decided to go from in person learning to online only, due to the increased infection rate in the county.

A 2-year-old child was injured in an accidental shooting Friday afternoon at the Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids.

According to the Cedar Rapids Police Department, a preliminary investigation into the incident indicates an accidental discharge from a firearm struck the boy. He is related to the person who had possession of the firearm, police said.

Officials said the boy suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the forearm and was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City for treatment.

Public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said the incident occurred inside the mall near Sweetopia and...

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for November 6.

Depending on when you wake up and listen to this Friday morning, there could be a more definitive answer on who won the Presidential election between incumbent president Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden, although recounts and other legal challenges could muddy the final official picture of that election for weeks, especially if the candidate who is behind refuses to concede.

Throughout the day on Thursday, as absentee ballots were counted, totals trended toward a plurality of votes for Biden in the states of Pennsylvania and Georgia, and there was a persistently shrinking majority of votes for Biden in the state of Arizona. Of all the states still not yet called by national media organizations as of early Friday morning, Pennsylvania is the only one remaining that Biden truly needs to solidly eclipse the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.

Friday’s weather will keep the streak alive of pleasantly warm fare, which may come to an end by early next week. According to the National Weather Service, it will be sunny with a high near 74 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. It will be a little windier than Thursday, with a wind of 5 to 10 mph gusting as high as 20 mph.

Things continued to go from bad to worse in Iowa and the nation as COVID-19 cases continued to spread. As the United States hit a record high of more than 121,000 positive cases Thursday, Iowa set its own record of 4,706 positive cases. This mark was greater than the previous high for COVID-19 cases by almost 2,000.

Hospitalizations for treatment of the virus also continue to skyrocket in the state, hitting 839 Thursday, setting a record high for the 11th consecutive day. If these trends continue it could greatly test the staffing and bed capacity of Iowa’s hospitals, and, as a result, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics announced it is officially activating the first stage of its coronavirus surge plan.

This involves, among other things, adding 16 intensive care unit beds to its current 100; expanding testing capacity; and doubling staffing at its influenza-like-illness clinic.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds held her first press conference on the pandemic in Iowa in nearly a month, as she had spent much of October campaigning for fellow Republicans. Reynolds said that the substantial margin that Republicans won on election day in the state shows that Iowans support her government’s approach to COVID-19 so far. Reynolds has been cautious to close down businesses to slow the spread of the disease at the expense of the economy and has persistently been against the mandating of mask wearing statewide. She has instead argued that Iowans should be trusted to make their own decisions in these matters.

With this in mind, Reynolds said her government would be responding to the latest surge of cases by using federal dollars to bolster the response at local hospitals. She also said the state would be launching a public information campaign over the next two weeks reminding Iowans to wear masks and maintain social distance in public.

The COVID-19 pandemic is also hitting local hospital systems financially, even as they struggle to brace for the surge of new cases. Mercy Medical Center announced Thursday that it is closing one of its primary care clinics at the end of the month.

MercyCare Health Partners will close Nov. 30. The clinic, at 600 Seventh Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids, was developed to fill gaps in services locally by offering medical care “for a wide range of needs including more intensive primary care for patients.” In particular, the clinic was meant to establish a medical home for patients with complex health issues who do not have a family medicine or primary care physician.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for November 5.

Almost as if it is apologizing for October’s unseasonably cold weather, November is producing some of the best weather of the year so far. According to the National Weather Service, the day should start partly sunny in the Cedar Rapids area before getting gradually sunnier, with a high of 73 degrees. A light breeze of 5 mph should blow throughout the day. The low is expected to be 44 degrees, with clear skies.

Iowa’s 2020 election was one for the record books.

Secretary of State Paul Pate said Iowans broke the all-time turnout record for a general election in the state. More than 1,697,000 Iowans voted, easily surpassing the previous state record of 1,589,951 set in 2012, according to unofficial results.

More than a million Iowans voted absentee, another record. As of Wednesday morning, 1,001,840 absentee ballots were received by county auditors. Absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 2 and received by noon Nov. 9 will be counted.

Almost all of the races in an election dominated by Republicans in Iowa have been conceded, but one incredibly close one remains unsettled.

Republican state Sen. Mariannette Miller-Meeks pulled off what appeared to be an incredibly tight win for an open southeast Iowa U.S. House race, leading by 282 votes with 100 percent of precincts reporting. She is competing against Democrat Rita Hart for an open seat once filled by seven time incumbent Democrat Dave Loebsack.

However, with thousands of absentee ballots still outstanding, the race still remains in the balance. If the margin remains this close, it is likely that whichever candidate ends up behind in the final vote tally will request a recount.

There are no small margins at the Iowa Statehouse, where state Republicans expanded their already sizable leads. Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley said he believes Republicans earned a mandate Tuesday from voters who not only preserved the GOP’s control over the state lawmaking agenda but also expended the party’s majority in his chamber.

Grassley emphasized that this would include the fiscally conservative approach to the state budget. He did not predict what policy topics Republicans may address when they return in January to the Iowa Capitol or the 2021 legislative session, which for the fifth consecutive year will operate under full Republican control.

Finally, Iowa’s COVID-19 cases continue to grow, and few solutions have been offered up in the last month by Iowa’s government to slow the spread. The state on Wednesday reported 2,832 new COVID-19 cases, the second highest number of new cases in a 24-hour period since Oct. 30.

Hospitalizations continued to climb as well, with 777 Iowans being treated in Iowa’s hospitals as of 11 a.m. Wednesday. That is a record, for the 10th day in a row.

The number of patients being treated in intensive care units increased from 170 to 182, and those requiring ventilators to help them breathe rose from 59 to 63. Twenty-five deaths were reported, a total that ties with May 22 as Iowa’s second-most deadly day. Only Oct. 20 had more deaths reported: 32.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for November 4.

I’m recording this in early morning hours in the wake of an election that has not been entirely resolved. Here is what I know at this moment:

Republicans had a very good election night in Iowa.

Donald Trump decisively won Iowa’s 6 electoral votes.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst also fended off challenger Theresa Greenfield to win another 6-year term in the U.S. Senate

Republican candidates Ashley Hinson and Marianette Miller-Meeks appeared to win victories, reclaiming congressional seats for Republicans in Eastern Iowa’s first and second U.S. Congressional Districts. Miller-Meeks, however, won by a mere 282 votes out of 400,000 cast, so that could be subject to a recount before it is certified.

Meanwhile, Iowa’s heavily conservative 4th congressional district, formerly helmed by Steve King, taken on by Republican Randy Feenstra.

The one high profile race won by Democrats was Cindy Axne in the third congressional district, who defeated Republican David Young in a rematch of the 2018 race.

Republicans also maintained control of both statehouses in Des Moines.

For all I know you may wake up with no president definitely named, but at least the weather will be nice. According to the National Weather Service, it will be sunny in the Cedar Rapids area with a high near 71 degrees. The wind will also stay on the mild side.

Finally, it is November 4th, and unlike some predicted for this day after the election, COVID-19 is still news.

Iowa’s rate of confirmed COVID-19 infections soared to a record high Tuesday, cementing the state as the second-worst in the nation for the percentage of new cases added over the last seven days.

In the 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Tuesday, roughly 2 in 5 — 41.02 percent — of the 3,805 tests run in Iowa were positive.

According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center, Iowa’s worsening positivity rate over the last week averages to 37.4 percent — second worst in the nation only to South Dakota’s average of 50.6 percent.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for November 3.

There will be some nice weather to go out and cast your vote today. According to the National Weather Service, it will be 68 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area with a mild wind slowly becoming a bit breezy as the afternoon goes on. Tuesday night should be clear with a high of around 45 degrees.

It is election day, so let’s talk about the election first. Whatever happens with the vote today, a record number of Iowans have been registered to vote heading into the 2020 general election, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced on Monday.

According to Pate, Iowa has 2,095,581 active registered voters. Here are the breakdowns by party registration: there are 719,591 registered Republicans, 699,001 Democrats, 659,488 independents who declare no political party affiliation and 17,501 classified as other registrants.

The previous high in voter registrations came in the months following the 2016 general election, according to Pate.

And there is a good sign that every one of those votes could be important. If polling is to be believed, the presidential election, the battle for one of Iowa’s senate seats, and 3 of Iowa’s 4 congressional seats are all expected to be heavily competitive, along with close battles at the Iowa Statehouse level.

As of Monday morning, 43 percent of Iowa’s registered voters had already cast their ballots. Although there was no telling what those nearly one million voters have decided, 45 percent were cast by Democrats, 33 percent by Republicans and 21 percent by no-party voters. Republicans are expected to vote in a higher proportion on election day.

Stay safe out there and wear a mask, because every day Iowa is also setting records for COVID-19 infections.

More than 700 Iowans were being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals across the state as of Monday, the highest number seen in Iowa since the start of the pandemic. According to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa hospitals were treating 718 COVID-19 patients as of 11 a.m. Monday, setting a record for the eighth straight day. At the same time, intensive care unit patients dropped from 164 to 156, while the number of patients on ventilators jumped from 53 to 57.

Linn County saw 47 coronavirus-related hospitalizations as of Saturday, the most recent data available — a record high for the county’s hospitals. On Monday, the Anamosa Community School District announced it would be transitioning all in-person schooling to online Continuous Learning for the next two weeks due to the high positivity rate in Jones County.

This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I’m here with your update for Monday, November 2nd.

For your weather today, it's expected to be sunny with a high near 56. Winds from the west, 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Tonight should be clear with a low around 36.

Iowa football wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette was arrested in Iowa City early Sunday morning on suspicion of https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/iowa-football-wr-ihmir-smith-marsette-arrested-for-owi-20201101 (operating while intoxicated). Hours after the Hawkeyes’ loss to Northwestern, the 21-year-old senior was pulled over on southbound Riverside Drive at Myrtle Avenue for going 74 mph in a 30-mph zone. Smith-Marsette was driving a white 2017 Chevrolet Camaro. The officer said he had bloodshot watery eyes, impaired speech and smelled of alcohol. The officer also stated in the criminal complaint that Smith-Marsette admitted to drinking and failed a preliminary breath test. According to a Datamaster result, his breath alcohol concentration was 0.13 percent. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said in a statement Sunday that Smith-Marsette will be suspended for Saturday’s game against Michigan State.

For the seventh day in a row Sunday, the number of patients being treated in the state’s hospitals for COVID-19 reached a record high. In a 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Sunday, the number of people hospitalized for the virus in Iowa jumped from 630 to 676. The number of those in intensive care rose from 153 to 164 patients — tied for the record high set on May 7. Last week, in response to a question from The Gazette about whether Gov. Kim Reynolds had any comment about the spiking cases in Iowa, a spokesman for the governor’s office noted that only about 11 percent of patients in the state’s hospitals are there because of COVID-19, and that hospitals have ample capacity to handle the pandemic.