With COVID-19 being something that has been plaguing not only health, but also day to day lives. The United States and individual states have created regulations to prevent the rapid spread of the virus. On Sunday, February 7th, Iowa’s Governor, Kim Reynolds lifted the COVID-19 mask regulations, limitations on restaurant capacity, sporting events, and restrictions on gyms. This has caused misinformation on where people can and cannot wear a mask out in public.
Reynolds’s reasoning behind lifting these regulations was because of the drop in the state’s COVID hospitalization rate. The Governor Reynolds also claims the number of vaccines that have been started to be put out will make going to public places more safe. She is relying on businesses to make the decisions on what they should do about mask requirements in their establishments. However, this has caused miscommunication with many for where they can and cannot wear a mask.
John Cain, a franchise owner of The UPS Store, talks about how some Iowa citizens don’t fully understand the parameters of the mask regulations.“When I work throughout the day I see 3 out of 10 people come in without a mask. When I explain to these customers they still need to wear the mask in the store they use the governor’s mandate to explain why they shouldn’t have the need to.”
Governor Reynolds lifting these regulations has caused many to be confused. Clarification may be needed for citizens to where they’re okay to not wear masks. Claims have been made by State Representatives that Reynolds lifted these regulations without speaking to Iowa Department of Public Health officials. Even though these claims have been a “he said, she said ” situation, this still doesn’t look good to keep Iowans safe.
Iowa is now being looked at as either a terrible example on how to take care of the COVID crisis or the way moving forward that the country should take to get back to normal lives. As more is unveiled in this story, Iowans need to have more of an understanding of what the correct way moving forward will be.
The ‘mask requirement before we can assist you sign’ at The UPS Store
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