Iowa governor, local officials at odds over shelter-in-place order

[RandySF]

Governors of seventeen states have issued shelter-in-place orders to slow the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). But Governor Kim Reynolds again maintained on March 24 that data do not support that action in Iowa. She and top Iowa Department of Public Health officials are betting that closures already in place, along with official efforts to encourage social distancing, will be sufficient to keep serious COVID-19 infections from overwhelming our health care system.

A growing number of local leaders disagree.

People who contract the virus may be asymptomatic for about a week and can spread the disease, Cownie noted in his call for a statewide order. Meanwhile, Iowans continue to flock to stores and gather in parks, raising questions about whether they are taking the situation seriously enough.

“I’m concerned that if we don’t act now, we’re going to see an outbreak here not unlike what is being seen in Chicago or Washington,” Cownie said. “We’re ahead of it right now, but we need to act.”

Cownie said he is unsure if local officials like him have the authority to issue a stay-at-home order, a question he said is under review.

Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague also supports state action, Jason Clayworth and Katie Akin reported. Johnson County has the most COVID-19 cases in Iowa, and Polk County the second-highest total.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart wrote to Reynolds on March 24 “asking her to reconsider her decision not to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order,” Brian Morelli reported for the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Democratic State Senator Rob Hogg, who represents part of Cedar Rapids, has been calling for a statewide “hard quarantine” for several days.





https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2020/03/24/iowa-governor-local-officials-at-odds-over-shelter-in-place-order/
The governor’s stance is that local officials can take that step if they want to.

[madaboutharry]

1. Gov. Reynolds is a vapid Trump flack.

She is a right wing right to life nut job. The people of Iowa are represented by some of the dumbest ass people in the country. Joni Ernst and Kim Reynolds have a combined IQ barely above room temperature. Do I sound angry? Well, I am.