Governor begins to lift COVID-19 restrictions

by Travis Fischer

Governor Kim Reynolds has begun to relax emergency restrictions in Iowa even as cases of COVID-19 continue with near exponential growth across the state.

On Friday, April 24, Reynolds announced that hospitals and other outpatient surgery providers may once again perform elective procedures. Hospitals were restricted from these procedures earlier in the month to help preserve the state’s supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and make sure facilities were capable of handling a potential surge of COVID-19 patients.

“Fortunately, Iowa has not experienced the health care surge that other states have had,” said Reynolds. “The coordination and collaboration between providers, systems, and the state, gives us the confidence that we can effectively care for COVID-19 patients while also providing procedures to improve health and quality of life for others.”

Hospitals that wish to start scheduling elective procedures will have to abide by some conditions, such as being able to maintain a sufficient supply of PPE without relying on state stockpiles and must continue to accept and treat COVID-19 patients as needed, reserving 30% of their beds for COVID-19 patients.

Reynolds also announced that outdoor farmers markets will be allowed to continue, though again with restrictions.

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Farmers markets can only permit vendors that sell food, entertainment activities are prohibited, seating areas are prohibited, and vendors must be spaced at least six feet away from each other.

Other social distancing rules still apply, such as limiting the size of groups. Violation of these regulations is a simple misdemeanor by law, though Reynolds recommends that law enforcement expend all other warning options before issuing a ticket.

“Ticketing would be a last resort,” said Reynolds. “I believe in Iowans and their ability to be responsible. I don’t anticipate any problems.”

On Monday, April 27, Reynolds announced further lifting of restrictions in certain areas of the state where the spread of the virus has shown signs of stabilization. While certain areas of the state are still hotspots for virus activity, other areas have seen considerably less. There are fifteen counties in the state that have yet to have a confirmed case of COVID-19.

Starting on Friday, May 1, in 77 counties, restaurants, fitness centers, libraries, race tracks, and retailers may re-open their businesses to 50 percent of their normal operating capacity. Shopping centers may also re-open to 50 percent capacity, but play areas and common seating areas are still prohibited.

For restaurants, groups of customers may not exceed six people and the restaurant must ensure at least six feet of distance between each party. Self-service, such as fountain drinks and salad bars, are prohibited.

Bars will remain closed to the general public, however patrons can still arrange for carry-out or drive-through food and drink.

Fitness centers that re-open must likewise maintain six feet of distance between equipment, limit group activities to ten or fewer people, and ensure that all participants maintain a distance of six feet at all times.

Race tracks will be allowed to re-open provided that they do not permit in-person spectators.

Other social gatherings such as community gatherings and sporting events are allowed so long as they are limited to ten or fewer people, with the exception of religious gatherings which are exempt from the ten person restriction but must otherwise adhere to social distancing guidelines.

“The reality is that we can’t stop this virus. It will remain in our communities until a vaccine is available,” said Reynolds. “We must gradually shift from an aggressive mitigation strategy to focus on containing and managing virus activity for the long term in a way that safely and responsibly balances the health of our people and our economy.

While restaurants, fitness centers, and retail stores will be allowed to re-open on May 1, the closure of other businesses in the state has been extended to May 15. As testing capacity in the state increases, the governor will consider making more targeted re-openings in areas where risk of the virus spreading is low. With increased testing, the governor hopes to be able to impose or lift restrictions on a county-by-county basis, or even on a community-by-community basis.

“This is our first step of many of reopening Iowa and getting life and business back to normal as soon as possible,” said Reynolds.

As of Tuesday, April 28, there have been 6,376 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, up from 3,641 cases from the week prior. Over 90% of the new cases announced Tuesday are from counties which will remain closed even after parts of the state begin to reopen. Cerro Gordo County is one that will be able to see an increase in economic traffic as retailers, fitness centers and other businesses resume activity.

A portion of the increased number of confirmed cases can be attributed to an increase in testing across the state, particularly with surveillance testing done at meat packing plants and long term care facilities. According to Reynolds, roughly 30 percent of Iowa’s cases are related to manufacturing and another 15 percent are related to health care workers.

“We will continue to see clusters of positive cases in these types of facilities because COVID-19 spreads quickly and easily among people in close proximity. Once the virus is introduced into this type of an environment it’s very difficult to contain,” said Reynolds on Monday, April 20. “But these also are essential businesses and an essential workforce and without them peoples’ lives and our food supply will be impacted.”

An additional 53 deaths since last week were attributed to the virus, bringing the total death count to 136. Of the fatal cases, 51 have been elderly (age 80+), 48 have been older adults (60-80), 16 have been middle aged (40-60), and three have been young adults (20-40). A significant percentage of deaths in Iowa have been of residents in long term care facilities. So far, 16 long term care facilities have reported outbreaks, accounting for about 9% of the state’s cases.

Roughly one in 82 Iowans have been tested, with about 15 percent of those testing positive. There are no new cases in Cerro Gordo county, leaving the county total standing at 14.

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