Comment on Gov. Kim Reynolds lifting Iowa mask rules, limits on businesses and gatherings starting Sunday

Gov. Kim Reynolds lifting Iowa mask rules, limits on businesses and gatherings starting Sunday

DES MOINES — Iowa’s partial face mask mandate, public health restrictions on businesses, and limits on public gatherings are being lifted.Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday afternoon updated her COVID-19 public health emergency declaration. The update, effective Sunday, eliminated most restrictions that had been in place to combat COVID-19’s spread.Starting Sunday:• Iowans will no longer be required to wear face coverings in public when around other people for at least 15 minutes.• Businesses will not be required to limit the number of customers or keep them socially distanced.• There will no longer be a limit on the number of people who can gather in public.In the updated proclamation, Reynolds encourages vulnerable Iowans — those 65 years or older, or with serious health conditions — to “limit their activities outside of their home,” including trips to businesses and other establishments where other people gather.Reynolds also encourages all Iowans to limit their in-person interactions with vulnerable people, and to “exercise particular care and caution” when in public.Reynolds’ actions to lift mitigation strategies come at a time when COVID-19 numbers have been steadily decreasing in Iowa.However, the lifting of mitigation strategies also comes as the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution has been among the slowest in the country; a new, more contagious strain of the virus has been detected here; and the state has ordered K-12 schools to offer in-person instruction to all students.The two-week averages for new cases and COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths have been dropping precipitously since the pandemic’s largest spike, in late November and early December.

 

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