Iowa's governor lifts statewide COVID mandates, encourages personal responsibility: No more mandatory masks, social distancing, or gathering restrictions



As of Sunday, citizens of the Hawkeye State are free to make more decisions for themselves as responsible adults following Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds' decision to lift several notable statewide coronavirus restrictions.

On Friday, Reynolds issued a proclamation repealing the state's limited mask requirements, social distancing requirements, and limits on gatherings, the Des Moines register reported.

Instead of the government mandating behavior of adults and continuing what has essentially become the quarantining of healthy people, Reynolds' proclamation promotes personal responsibility and common sense, as noted in Section One:

I continue to strongly encourage all vulnerable Iowans, including those with preexisting medical conditions and those over than 65, in all counties of the state to continue to limit their activities outside of their home, including their visits to businesses and other establishments and their participation in gatherings of any size and any purpose. And I encourage all Iowans to limit their in-person interactions with vulnerable Iowans and to exercise particular care and caution when engaging in any necessary interactions.

The proclamation, which extended Iowa's state of public health disaster emergency through March 7, went into effect Sunday morning and focuses on encouraging Iowans to take personal responsibility and make decisions that are in the best interest of their health during the pandemic.

The governor imposed a limited statewide mask mandate in November as cases surged nationwide, the Washington Post noted. But with a significant drop in cases and hospitalizations in the state, as well as increased vaccination availability for hundreds of thousands of Iowans, Reynolds elected to return personal choice on masks to adult Iowans.

Her newest proclamation also rolls back restrictions on social distancing and gatherings and replaces them with encouragement for organizers and hosts to "take reasonable measures" to protect the public health. However, there are no mandates and no enforcement mechanisms for the state to shut down gatherings.

Reynolds' action also lifted social distancing mandates that have restricted businesses like bars, restaurants, casino, and gyms, as well as sporting events.

The governor's spokesman, Pat Garrett, told the Register that the governor wants her fellow Iowans to have the freedom to take "reasonable" measures on their own, saying in an email to the paper that Reynolds "strongly encourages Iowans, businesses and organizations to take reasonable public health measures consistent with guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health."

Two major cities disagree

At least two Iowa cities have declared that they will not be following the governor's lead and that mask mandates will continue to be enforced.

Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, a Democrat, announced that the city's mask mandate, which he imposed back in August, would remain in place.

"The governor's decision is confusing and can't be rationalized with the number of positive cases we continue to see across the state and here in Polk County," Cownie said Saturday, according to the Register. "With an alarmingly more transmissible version of the virus now detected in Iowa, it is more important than ever that our residents and visitors follow the advice of medical experts, keep social distance and whenever out in public, wear a mask."

Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague, also a Democrat, instituted a mask mandate back in July. City Manager Geoff Fruin said following Reynolds' announcement that Iowa City is still under a mask order.

"Iowa City's mask order is not impacted by the Governor's latest order and is still in place through May 31, 2021," Fruin said on the city's website. "Residents should continue to wear masks in all public spaces within Iowa City in accordance with the City's order."

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, has gone on record repeatedly with his belief that cities do not have the legal power to enforce mask mandates, according to the Register.

Gov. Mike Parson to Missourians: 'Government has no business' regulating gatherings in homes



Like other leaders across the U.S., Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) reminded his constituents ahead of the Thanksgiving Day to be cautious about COVID-19. But instead of handing down government dictates ahead of the festivities, Parson did just the opposite: he reminded Missourians of their rights, and vowed not to step on them.

What are the details?

"The holidays are coming, and as the Governor of the State of Missouri, I am not going to mandate who goes in the front door of your home," the former law enforcement officer tweeted. "Government has no business going through the front door of your homes to decide how many members of your family are there, how many are not."

The holidays are coming, and as the Governor of the State of Missouri, I am not going to mandate who goes in the fr… https://t.co/06NiLvfWuP
— Governor Mike Parson (@Governor Mike Parson)1606230969.0

Parson told the citizens of the Show-Me state, "Ultimately, we each must take responsibility for our actions," and issued the longstanding recommendation that folks practice social distancing, wear masks, and wash their hands to stave off the virus. He also suggested that people "host outdoor activities rather than indoor activities as much as possible" and pointed to further guidance from the state's health department.

The Republican's promise not to "mandate who goes in the front door" of citizens' homes is in stark contrast to the messages being sent from jurisdictions across the U.S., where leaders have issued decrees on how many people may gather in private residences, and even how many separate households guests can hail from.

Parson's view on such laws might have to do with his former career as a sheriff, which falls in line with law enforcement officers nationwide who have publicly refused to enforce measures regulating people's party plans.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), for instance, issued an executive order earlier this month limiting New York residents to only 10 people gathering together in a home. Within days, several upstate sheriffs stated outright that they would not enforce such a mandate, calling it unconstitutional.

Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino told CNN of Cuomo, "I don't think the Constitution allows for the infringement on the number of people in your own home. He has authority to do a lot but not to tell law enforcement to get into someone's house and count who is there."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) also issued new executive orders ahead of the holidays. As columnist John Phillips described them in the Los Angeles Daily News: "The Warden's latest Thanksgiving Day guidelines decreed that parties be held outdoors, with guests from no more than three households, seated six feet apart, taking off their masks only to eat and drink, and no one is allowed indoors except to use the bathroom."

Newsom, of course, was busted breaking his own coronavirus restrictions by attending a lavish birthday dinner for a lobbyist with at least a dozen people inside one of the swankiest restaurants in the country.

California sheriffs pushed back against Newsom's orders, too. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office issued a statement this week declaring outright that they "will not be determining—including entering any home or business—compliance with, or enforcing compliance of, any health or emergency orders related to curfews, staying at home, Thanksgiving or other social gatherings inside or outside the home, maximum occupancy, or mask mandates."