Hunter
07/17/20
A nonprofit news agency based in Washington DC reports that a White House Coronavirus Task Force document recommends face mask mandates in nearly half of Iowa’s counties.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the document was prepared in detail but never published.
The task force identified five counties in the “red zone,” where new cases rose above 100 per 100,000 population and positive test results are over ten percent. The counties, Sioux, Osceola, Webster, Franklin and Clarke, were recommended to close bars and gyms, limit social gatherings to 10 or fewer people, practice social distancing, and require masks in public.
Another 42 counties were identified in the “yellow zone,” with new cases between 10 and 100 per 100,000 population, and a positivity rate between 5 and 10 percent. Johnson County was included in that group, The task force recommended that those counties limit gyms to 25 percent capacity, closing bars until the positive test rate is under 3 percent, limiting social gatherings to 25 or less, reducing public interactions to half of normal activity, and requiring masks and social distancing.
The Iowa Department of Public Health announced a record 830 new cases of coronavirus reported in the 24 hour period ending at 11am Thursday. 18 new deaths were also reported.
The Gazette reached out to the Governor’s office and the IDPH for a comment on the Coronavirus Task Force report or whether they are considering a mask mandate, but received no response. Kim Reynolds has only encouraged Iowans to “step up” and follow CDC guidelines, and has not allowed local municipalities to enforce their own mandates.