Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Friday lifted the coronavirus restrictions that have been in place in the state since Thanksgiving.
The Republican’s latest health proclamation does not require Iowans to wear masks while in public buildings, and it limits indoor and outdoor gatherings.
“I strongly encourage all businesses or other employers who remain open with personal activities to take reasonable measures under the circumstances of each institution to ensure the health of employees, patrons 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, ”reads the proclamation according to KCCI-TV in Des Moines.
The order takes effect at midnight Sunday.
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Jessica Dunker, president and CEO of the Iowa Restaurant Association, praised the order, which requires the social distance requirements in restaurants and bars.
“To be honest, it allows us to do business again at a very critical time,” she told the Des Moines Register. “We are … one day before the Super Bowl, which opens many businesses for crowds to watch the big game safely.”
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds speaks in Davenport, Iowa, October 31, 2020. (Getty Images)
But Lina Tucker Reinders, executive director of the Iowa Public Health Association, said she thinks the restrictions are being lifted too soon.
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“I think it is not a good idea to put it bluntly,” she said according to the Register. “We are not out of the pandemic yet.”
Rep. Cindy Axne, the lone Democratic U.S. congressman from Iowa, called the decision “short-sighted, ill-considered and dangerous.”
In Des Moines, Mayor Frank Cownie said the city’s mask mandate would remain in effect, reports KCCI.
“To me, the science was very clear. If you see a spread like we see in the state of Iowa and in Polk County, we need to be more diligent,” Cownie told the station.
The governor’s ease with restrictions comes as new case numbers and hospitalizations track down the increase in the state during the holidays.
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Yet the state has surpassed just 5,000 deaths and according to the Des Moines Register and NPR, at least three cases of a new British variant considered more contagious have been surpassed.
The state has also struggled to implement the vaccine and is considered by the Registry to be the third worst ahead of Idaho and Missouri.
“We are on average about 60% in receiving the vaccines and that is not where we should be,” Reynolds told a news conference last week, KCCI reported. “We want to do better. We know we can do better.”