Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on new COVID-19 restrictions: 'Not on my watch'

Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said she will not reinstate COVID-19 restrictions as hospitalizations across the state increase and cases of a new coronavirus variant prompt masking requirements and other restrictions to reemerge at some colleges and businesses in other parts of the country.

In a statement issued by her office Wednesday, Reynolds said "concerned Iowans have been calling my office asking whether the same could happen here. My answer — not on my watch."

In recent weeks, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been on the rise across the United States. This comes as the omicron variant EG. 5, recently designated as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization, became the newly dominant variant in the country.

This has led some public health experts to suggest that some people — especially those at higher risk of severe COVID-19 — wear masks when in public, and to be a bit more cautious about ways to avoid contracting the coronavirus.

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In a few limited instances, colleges and companies elsewhere have announced they will be requiring masks for the time being.

Iowa saw a 51.4 percent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations through Aug. 19 compared with the prior week, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. It classifies that number as a "substantial increase." In Linn County, there was a 11.5 percent increase over same period, which the CDC considers "moderate." It was the same in Johnson County.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services no longer require labs to report COVID-19 test results to the state. The state ended mandatory COVID-19 reporting April 1. Since rapid at-home tests have grown in popularity and aren’t required to be reported, the department said the weekly case and positive test counts in the state are “no longer as meaningful as they once were.”

At the same time, the department also ended its public COVID-19 reporting dashboard. It now incorporates COVID-19 data in its weekly respiratory virus surveillance reports.

According to the latest report, overall COVID-19 activity in Iowa was low for the week of Aug. 13 to Aug. 19. About 14 percent of lab tests reported as positive, according to the Iowa respiratory virus survey.

A total of 67 individuals were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state during that period, and Iowa emergency departments saw 362 visits involving patients with COVID-19 symptoms. Iowa saw 831 COVID-19 related deaths for 2022-23, according to the survey.

New variants

In recent weeks, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have risen across the United States. That comes as health authorities say they're closely tracking the spread of three new variants.

The World Health Organization said it has not seen evidence of an increase in the severity of illness under omicron variant EG.5 — which CDC data indicates has become the dominant strain in the United States.

But the appearance of a new "highly mutated" variant dubbed BA.2.86 — which the Washington Post reports threatens to be the most adept yet at evading the body's immune response — has raised questions among virologists and health officials about what the coming months could hold.

That has led some public health experts to suggest that some people — particularly those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 — wear masks in public, and to be more cautious.

Levels of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths still remain far below peaks seen during the past summer and winter waves of the virus, but have been climbing steadily.

Local public health officials told The Gazette the latest seasonal uptick in the virus is not yet cause for concern, but a reminder to be cautious and to continue to take precautions, including wearing a mask in public, practicing good hygiene and staying home if sick.

Sam Jarvis, community health manager with Johnson County Public Health, said public health officials have tools to protect Iowans for a seasonal uptick in cases of COVID-19 and other respiratory virus, including forthcoming COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots specifically targeted to protect against the family of variants on the rise.

“We’ve seen different mutations throughout the pandemic … and it’s really important that folks continue to be mindful of that,” Jarvis said. “The severity (of illness from new coronavirus strains) is not yet known, but what we continue to iterate to folks … is all the things we can do to stay safe. Those who are immune compromised should continue to take precautions that they’re comfortable with to protect themselves and others.”

Dr. Pramod Dwivedi, health director of Linn County Public Health, echoed that message.

“We continue to recommend the basic precautions of the getting the COVID-19 vaccine, staying home if sick, covering coughs and sneezes, and washing hands,” Dwivedi said, adding COVID-19 vaccines are available at health care providers and at Linn County Public Health.

A little more than 60 percent of all Iowans — about 1.9 million — are fully vaccinated.

UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids had four hospitalized patients with COVID-19 as of Wednesday afternoon, and the hospital’s emergency room has seen a small uptick in individuals with COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. A hospital spokesperson said its lab has seen the positivity rate increase over the last few weeks from about 10 to 17 percent. The hospital monitors all respiratory and communicable illnesses.

Reynolds was one of the first governors to lift pandemic restrictions she had implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor signed a law in 2021 that prohibited mask mandates by schools, cities and counties that was blocked in federal district court but later lifted by a federal appeals court.

Eleven Iowa families from 10 school districts argued that, by prohibiting schools from enacting face mask requirements that could help protect a medically vulnerable student’s health, the state law violates federal laws that provide protections for individuals with disabilities.

A federal judge later ruled Iowa schools must consider the requests of families with medically vulnerable students who wish to have teachers and classmates near the students wear face masks. Reynolds at the time said she planned to appeal

“In Iowa, government respects the people it serves and fights to protect their rights,” Reynolds said in her statement Wednesday. “I rejected the mandates and lockdowns of 2020, and my position has not changed.”

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com