Reynolds extends school and business closures through April

     The number of COVID-19 cases in Iowa continues to increase as the novel coronavirus multiplies across the state.

     As of Sunday, April 5, there have been 868 positive cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the state, more than doubling the 336 cases from the week prior. Of these cases, 70 are the result of an outbreak in a long-term care facility in Cedar Rapids.

     In total, 91 Iowans are currently hospitalized, and 22 deaths have been attributed to the virus.

     On Thursday, April 2, Governor Kim Reynolds officially ordered schools in Iowa to remain closed through the month of April. This extends the four-week closures that Reynolds had previously suggested to schools in the middle of last March.

     "Keeping Iowa students out of classrooms is a very difficult decision, but it remains necessary for now," said Reynolds at her regular press conference. "Keeping schools closed for an extended amount of time will help protect the safety of our educators, students, and school staff."

     Reynolds has waived the instructional time requirements for schools through April 13. In order to continue having their instructional time requirements waived beyond April 13, schools are being asked to submit a plan to offer continuous learning for their homebound students by April 10. Those that do not will have to have their instructional time made up when the schools eventually open again.

     NOTE: The steps that the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows district plans to take will be discussed in a story next week after they are approved by the Board of Education at their April 13 meeting.

     In the same order, Reynolds extended the closures of all businesses that had been previously closed from April 7 through April 30. This includes restaurants, fitness centers, salons, theaters, senior centers, and more. Likewise, mass gatherings of people, defined as any gathering of ten or more, remains prohibited through the end of the month.

     Reynolds likewise extended the various regulatory relief measures she has implemented over the last several weeks and, on March 31, signed a new emergency proclamation granting additional relief to hospitals, law enforcement, and businesses.

     The proclamation suspends the regulations that prohibit county hospitals from borrowing money for the purpose of sustaining hospital operations, allows corporate shareholder meetings to be held by remote communication, and suspends the expiration and renewal requirements for law enforcement certification.

     Throughout the week Reynolds has faced increasing pressure to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order, as has already been done by much of the country. The governor has resisted such calls, continuing to stick to the policy set out early in the pandemic.

     Often citing that the data she has doesn't support a shelter-in-place order yet, Reynolds shed some light on the criteria that would indicate when such an order would become necessary.

     "I just really feel strongly that's the proper way to move forward so that we don't really impact the supply chain. We don't raise the anxiety higher than it already is," said Reynolds. "I think it's really important that we stay the course and keep making decisions based on data."

     Factors being monitored include the percentage of COVID-19 cases in the 65+ population, the percentage of cases requiring hospitalization, the number of cases per 100,000 Iowans over a two week period, and the number of outbreaks in long term care facilities.

     Reynolds also reiterated that a shelter-in-place order wouldn't look substantially different than what has already been implemented across the state, noting that an estimated 80% of Iowa workers would still be considered "essential," even under a shelter-in-place order.

     "In a sense we've put a lot of measures into place, I've just done it in an incremental fashion," said Reynolds. "If you did a side-by-side comparison of what we are doing in Iowa and what other states are doing, they are much the same. Even those states that have implemented shelter-in-place orders have kept the majority of their businesses open similar to our orders."

     In her Monday, April 6 press conference, Reynolds announced additional closures effective now until Thursday, April 30. These include:

-Malls

-Tobacco or vaping stores

-Toy, gaming, music, instrument, movie, or adult entertainment stores

-Social and fraternal clubs, including those at golf courses

-Bingo halls, bowling alleys, pool halls, arcades, and amusement parks

-Museums, libraries, aquariums, and zoos

-Race tracks and speedway.

-Roller or ice skating rinks and skate parks

-Outdoor or indoor playgrounds or children’s play centers

-Campgrounds

In addition, all unsolicited door-to-door sales are prohibited.