Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds issued a new health proclamation on Friday that relaxed many of the state’s existing COVID-19 regulations.
Among the policy reversals in the proclamation of the Public Health Disaster are the removal of the requirements for internal mask in public spaces and the requirements of social distance that previously regulated the limits for social and business meetings. The new policies take effect at 12:01 pm on Sunday, reports the KCCI.
In the document, Reynolds states: “I strongly encourage all companies or other employers to remain open with face-to-face operations, to take reasonable steps in 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 to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. “
Reynolds’ office said in a statement that the new measures “will continue critical regulatory relief for those on the front lines of the recovery of COVID19 for another 30 days”.
It is not yet clear why Reynolds decided to loosen restrictions on coronavirus, and the governor’s office did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.
Shortly after the announcement, “CovidKim” started to become a trend on Twitter, as social media users criticized the governor’s actions.
So reckless. Such a bad decision by @IAGovernor #CovidKim when we are 47th in the country for vaccination rates and 16th for COVID-19 per capita. https://t.co/Vykuon2FpI
– heather (@hthrnnclrk) February 6, 2021
I. I can’t. Until. Not anymore. This is incredibly irresponsible with the new variants that are already appearing in the state. I think 5,000 deaths are not enough to #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 Grogu (@TheTattooedProf) February 6, 2021
Although the state has experienced a decline in coronavirus cases in recent months, 804 new confirmed cases of the virus were reported on Friday morning, the Des Moines Register reported.
According to the Iowa Department of Health, the state has recorded 323,516 cases of the coronavirus and 5,067 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began. In the last seven days, 7.1% of the tests were positive.