COVID-19 dominates discussion during governor's NWI stop

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic remains a moving target, but local residents on Friday offered praise to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her handling of the unprecedented situation.

Around a dozen people showed up to 1015 Steak Company in Sibley to quiz the governor about the pandemic's status in Iowa. Reynolds told guests she was proud of how Iowans handled the situation and felt the Hawkeye State was on solid footing moving forward.

"It's taken all of us together," she said. "We're in a lot better position than other states across the country. A lot of states don't have their kids in school yet, and a lot of states have businesses on lockdown."

Statewide, the unemployment rate for August was 6 percent, down from 6.8 percent in July. It peaked at 10.2 percent in April. September's report has not been released yet.

"Because of that, I really think we are positioned well from a state perspective," Reynolds said, noting the door is open to bring new people to Iowa. "We're going to do a lot of marketing about why Iowa is a great place to live, raise a family and do business because of the position I think we're going to be in."

Reynolds felt the state's response to COVID-19 accomplished its primary goal of not flooding the health care system. She acknowledged that rates in northwest Iowa have spiked recently, but overall she felt Iowans have followed CDC recommendations to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Reynolds also admitted the state's 14-day positivity rate between 8-9 percent is higher than she'd like to see it. In northwest Iowa, those numbers are higher yet, with Osceola County clocking in at 16.2 percent Tuesday and O'Brien County hitting 19 percent. Those rates ranked Nos. 9 and 6, respectively in Iowa.

The positivity rate is derived from the number of positive COVID-19 cases among all individuals tested within a 14-day period.

"We'd like to see that number around 7 percent, we'd like to see it lower than that, but if I could get it in the sevens I would be thrilled," Reynolds said.

The governor also noted an increase in coronavirus-related hospitalizations recently.

"We weren't testing everybody that came into the hospital, and that was a change that we made. If somebody comes into the ER, the first thing they do is test," she said. "If you're going in to have a baby, the first thing they do is take a test. That's kind of ticked the numbers up a little bit, and maybe a little bit more activity up in [northwest Iowa], too."

During an interview with the media following her discussion with constituents, Reynolds held firm on her stance regarding a face covering mandate. She has said such mandates aren't enforceable despite states like Minnesota implementing a fine system for people who don't adhere to rules in public.

"Up in Minnesota they do enforce it and their numbers have skyrocketed. In Wisconsin they've had a mask mandate since July, and they've seen their numbers skyrocket. California is the same thing," she said. "Since the very beginning, I've been very consistent. We know we've got to protect our most vulnerable and those with underlying conditions. That's who this disease impacts more than others and we should focus on that population."

Face covering mandates are becoming more common in Iowa schools this fall. In areas with high positivity rates and large numbers of quarantined students, some districts like Sibley-Ocheyedan and Sheldon have implemented face covering rules when social distancing guidelines can't be followed. Many Lyon County schools have also adopted similar measures.

Reynolds believed the mandates will help students stay in school, as will new exposure guidelines that loosened quarantine requirements for individuals who come in contact with a COVID-positive person while wearing a mask.

"I think you're going to see [mask usage] go up because kids want to stay in school, they want to participate in activities and I think this is another positive way to get where we all want to be," Reynolds said.

The governor admitted the pandemic has been a humbling learning experience. Early on, there was pressure to issue a stay-at-home order, but Reynolds believed it was unnecessary.

"I didn't think I needed to lock Iowans in their house. We're responsible, we know how to do the right thing," she said. "We did a lot of the right things and we did a lot of the targeted mitigation efforts."

Knowing what she knows now, she had one regret.

"I don't know that I would have closed the schools, because it just doesn't impact the kids," she said, noting many daycare centers stayed open early on for essential workers and have since reopened completely. "We've seen minimal, minimal, minimal cases that are positive. They put the mitigation measures in place and they didn't see the type of outbreak."

With the end of the pandemic unknown, Reynolds said her administration plans to stay focused on mitigating the virus' spread while simultaneously planning for the future. She said there's been significant funding dedicated to behavioral health since many individuals facing abuse, addiction and mental illness have had delayed care during the pandemic.

"We always talk about positive cases and the anti-COVID measures. We never talk about the whole person," Reynolds said. "I think we're going to see some aftermath, and we're already seeing it. We've got to be thinking about that and make sure the infrastructure is in place."