Northeast Iowa counties are now creating a reserve supply of Personal Protective Equipment

When the coronavirus outbreak began, the big concern was having enough personal protective equipment for emergency workers such as doctors and first responders.  In Northeast Iowa, that concern has eased greatly.

Winneshiek County Emergency Management Coordinator Sean Snyder says the next step is for counties in District 2 in Northeast Iowa to work with Homeland Security to create a reserve stockpile of PPEs.

Snyder says the theory is that each county will have a reserve of personal protective equipment, so that overall in the district, there would be enough to handle a sudden "hot spot" in one of the counties.  The PPEs would be stored not in one location, but in each county within the district.  Snyder says he doesn't know the exact number of PPEs which will be stored in Winneshiek County, but he's been working with Homeland Security and other Emergency Management Coordinators in Northeast Iowa to make the reserve supply a reality.