As Covid-19 cases fall and vaccines are rolled out across the country, a handful of state-wide governors have dropped mask mandates, increasing tensions with some city leaders enforcing their own restrictions on fighting new forms of the coronavirus.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds dropped state mask mandate and restrictions on social gatherings this month after cases and hospital admissions fell about 80% since the fall peak and vaccination programs in nursing homes and assisted living facilities began .
“We need to make sure that we do everything we can to protect Iowans, especially our most vulnerable,” the Republican governor said in an interview. “But I also need to strike a balance between economies that support those individuals who are trying to maintain a business or make a living.”
Des Moines, Dubuque, Iowa City, and several other cities have no plans to follow the governor’s lead to let the face-covering mandate expire as several new strains of Covid-19 have arrived in the state and the vaccine rollout is taking longer takes than expected.
“I think now is the time to be more diligent than ever,” said Frank Cownie, Democratic Mayor of Des Moines, who instituted his own mask mandate in August, months ahead of the state.