Name: Gov. Kim Reynolds lifting Iowa's mask requirements, gathering limits Sunday
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Gov. Kim Reynolds lifting Iowa's mask requirements, gathering limits Sunday

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Des Moines RegisterView CommentsIowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will lift&nbsp;the state's limited mask requirement&nbsp;on Sunday, along with the&nbsp;social distancing requirements&nbsp;and other COVID-19 mitigation measures&nbsp;she had in place for businesses and social gatherings.Many states had already mask mandates for months before Reynolds ordered Iowans to wear masks in certain social settings in November. According to reports, 36 states still require people to wear masks, although North Dakota's requirement expired last month and&nbsp;Mississippi's mandate only covers counties with high virus infection rates.Reynolds latest , issued Friday afternoon and effective 12:01 a.m. Sunday, instead "strongly encourages&nbsp;Iowans, businesses&nbsp;and organizations&nbsp;to&nbsp;take reasonable&nbsp;public health measures&nbsp;consistent with guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health," Reynolds' spokesperson, Pat Garrett, said in an email.&nbsp;&nbsp;A news release from Reynolds' office did not explain why she is relaxing the restrictions.&nbsp;The lifted requirements come as Iowa's daily reported case numbers and hospitalizations have shown declines since their spike in November, and less than a week after the state&nbsp;to hundreds of thousands of Iowans.Still, the state , and&nbsp;on Thursday the state&nbsp;. Meanwhile, the coronavirus&nbsp;vaccine supply remains limited and in high demand, with&nbsp;Reynolds on Thursday &nbsp;and&nbsp;46th in the rate of administering vaccines to residents.&nbsp;Also, on&nbsp;Monday, state officials was now in Iowa.More:Lina Tucker Reinders, executive director of the Iowa Public Health Association, said Friday evening that Reynolds is&nbsp;lifting the restrictions prematurely.&nbsp;"I don't think it's a good idea, to put it bluntly," she said. "We're not out of the pandemic yet."&nbsp;She said although coronavirus test positivity rates have decreased, they could spike again. As new variants of the virus surface, she said people need to continue taking the same recommended precautions they have been to slow the spread.&nbsp;"We have so many people wanting a vaccine, which is fantastic," she said. "This isn't the time to let our guards down. This is the time to just,&nbsp;head-down, trudge on as we have been to make sure we get everybody through it."U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, the only Democratic member of Iowa's congressional delegation, said Reynolds' new order was "short-sighted, ill-conceived, and dangerous.""In recent weeks, I’ve spoken to the governor and our federal health partners about increasing Iowa’s vaccine allocations to bring us closer to ending this crisis," Axne said in a statement.&nbsp;"But this new proclamation undermines all of those efforts —&nbsp;disregarding the lagging vaccinations of our seniors and other vulnerable populations and skipping ahead to a return to normalcy that is unwarranted."Since mid-November, Reynolds had&nbsp;required&nbsp;Iowans two years of age and older to wear masks if they were in&nbsp;indoor areas and spent 15 minutes or more&nbsp;within 6 feet of a person not in their households. The rule&nbsp;carried several exceptions.Coronavirus in Iowa:The governor's previous proclamation also&nbsp;required social distancing between groups at bars, restaurants, casinos, fitness centers and other establishments, as well as&nbsp;at social gatherings and sporting events.&nbsp;"I strongly encourage that all businesses or other employers remaining open with in-person operations take reasonable measures under the circumstances of each establishment to ensure the health of employees, patrons and members of the public, including social distancing practices, increased hygiene practices and other public health measures," Reynolds' latest proclamation states.&nbsp;The lifted restrictions drew immediate praise Friday from Jessica Dunker, president and CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association.Dunker said while Reynolds had not imposed specific&nbsp;capacity limits in businesses, the requirements for social distancing between groups had&nbsp;effectively limited the number of patrons a restaurant could serve.She said most operators had been worried that the first quarter of the year&nbsp;would bring a further decrease in business, but she said the new order, "may well give us the lift we need to be able to see this thing to the other side."&nbsp;"Quite frankly, it allows us to go back to doing business at a really critical time," she said. "We are … one day before the Super Bowl, which opens up a lot of businesses for crowds to come in and safely watch the big game."Jeff Bruning, co-owner of Full Court Press, which operates El Bait Shop, the Iowa Taproom and other Des Moines metro restaurants, said "any snap decisions right now would be a little premature."&nbsp;He said he doesn't see ownership removing barriers erected between booths or putting filling to capacity&nbsp;immediately."I'm not a doctor and (not) a disease specialist, so I don't know all these things, but I can say that the strength of the restaurant and bar business depends on us coming out of this the right way," he said.&nbsp;More:Tobi Parks, co-owner of xBk Live, a music venue in the Drake business district, said she and her business partner had already&nbsp;made the decision to remain&nbsp;closed until April.&nbsp;"We'll continue to monitor infection rates and make decisions on when and how to reopen based on the best scientific guidance we have at the time," she said.&nbsp;Adam Flack, spokesperson for the Iowa Events Center, said lifting of restrictions will not&nbsp;affect Iowa Wild games or other events happening at the venue. The Iowa Events Center has been using a pod-seating system in which family groups may sit together but are separated by at least six feet from other groups.&nbsp;"Our health and safety protocols, including physical distancing and mandating masks, will remain in effect until we have had time to consult with Polk County, Spectra's corporate office and our upcoming event&nbsp;and meeting clients," he said.&nbsp;The Register's&nbsp;Inyoung Choi and Sierra Porter contributed to this report.Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at , at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at .View Comments

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsIowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will lift&nbsp;the state's limited mask requirement&nbsp;on Sunday, along with the&nbsp;social distancing requirements&nbsp;and other COVID-19 mitigation measures&nbsp;she had in place for businesses and social gatherings.Many states had already mask mandates for months before Reynolds ordered Iowans to wear masks in certain social settings in November. According to reports, 36 states still require people to wear masks, although North Dakota's requirement expired last month and&nbsp;Mississippi's mandate only covers counties with high...

Gov. Kim Reynolds lifting Iowa's mask requirements, gathering limits Sunday

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