U.S. News

Iowa Governor Rescinds Mask Mandate in Face of Mutations

HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?

Kim Reynolds also decided businesses don’t have to keep customers socially distanced.

GettyImages-1283267219_r8vvrt
Mario Tama/Getty

The highly contagious U.K. variant of COVID-19 has been found in Iowa. Gov. Kim Reynolds’ response: She’s lifting the measure put in place to slow the spread of the virus. As of Sunday, gone are the mask mandate, the rules requiring businesses to limit capacity and enforce social distancing, and the caps on indoor and outdoor gatherings. New COVID cases in Iowa have fallen dramatically since they peaked in November, but experts say the presence of mutations means states should not be letting down their guard. Meanwhile, Iowa is ranked 47th in vaccine distribution.

Read it at Omaha.com

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.