GOP governor defends decision to lift mask mandate: ‘Iowans know what to do’

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) explained her decision to revoke the state’s mask mandate at a press conference Wednesday, telling reporters, “Iowans know what to do.”

Speaking publicly for the first time since the state rescinded the mandate on Friday, Reynolds expressed her confidence in Iowans’ ability to guard themselves against the spread of COVID-19 but did not address exactly why she was rescinding the mandate.

“Iowans know what to do. We’ve been telling them for a year what they need to do. And they’re doing it,” she said, according to the Des Moines Register.

Her actions come as the state has the highest COVID-19 test positivity rate in the nation; 26 percent of all COVID-19 tests in the state are coming back positive, according to the Becker Hospital Review.

Multiple state lawmakers, all Democrats, told Iowa Public Radio (IPR) earlier this week that Reynolds’s decision was apparently made without consulting the state health director.

“When Director Kelly Garcia got that question, she commented that no, they had not been consulted regarding the governor’s latest health proclamation,” state Rep. Lindsay James (D) told IPR.

“It took my breath away,” James added to the radio station. “It is mind boggling to me that the governor didn’t consult her own public health experts when making such a major public health decision for our state.”

A spokesperson for the state health department did not deny to IPR that the decision was made without first consulting Garcia, who was previously notified about the governor’s intent to put the mask mandate in place last fall, and told the radio station that the governor’s action was taken in response to the “availability of healthcare resources” in the state.

The Iowa Department of Public Health “advises the governor daily on the state’s COVID-19 response,” said the spokesperson. “As the governor has done from the beginning of this pandemic, she has adjusted the mitigation efforts based on the availability of healthcare resources.”