Kim Reynolds, the Republican governor of Iowa, issued a new health proclamation on Friday that relaxed many of the state’s existing COVID-19 regulations.
Political investments in the proclamation of public health disasters include the elimination of indoor mask requirements in public spaces and the social distancing requirements that previously regulated the boundaries of social gatherings and businesses. The new policies will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, KCCI reports.
In the paper, Reynolds states: “I strongly encourage all companies or other employers to remain open with face-to-face operations that take reasonable steps in the circumstances of each establishment to ensure the health of employees, employers and members of the public, including social distancing. practices, increased hygiene practices and other public health measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. “
Reynolds’ office said in a statement that the new measures “will continue with critical regulatory relief for those who are at the forefront of COVID19 recovery for an additional 30 days.”
It is still unclear why Reynolds decided to relax the coronavirus restrictions and the governor’s office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
Shortly after the announcement, “CovidKim” began tending to Twitter as social media users criticized the governor’s actions.
So reckless. A bad decision @IAGovernor #CovidKim when we are 47th in the country for vaccination rates and 16th for COVID-19 per capita. https://t.co/Vykuon2FpI
– bruc (@hthrnnclrk) February 6, 2021
I can not. Even. More This is so incredibly irresponsible with the new variants already appearing in the state. I guess 5,000 is not enough #CovidKim. https://t.co/k6bqL1XaeC
– Theresa Wilson (@IowaMsAnthrope) February 5, 2021
#CovidKim be like https://t.co/MS4RaDaNwA pic.twitter.com/nJ5RHIgsqM
– Kevin Gannon misses Yellow (TTheTattooedProf) February 6, 2021
Although the state has experienced a decline in coronavirus cases in recent months, 804 new cases of the virus were reported Friday morning, the Des Moines registry reported.
According to the Iowa Department of Health, the state has experienced 323,516 cases of coronavirus and 5,067 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began. In the last seven days, 7.1% of the tests have been positive.