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Gov. Kim Reynolds today expanded the state's disaster health proclamation. At Reynolds daily coronavirus briefing, Reynolds said she was prohibiting elective non-essential surgical and dental procedures and expanding the breadth of the state's retail closures.
All existing closures including restaurants and bars will be now be extended another week until April 7th, as now also book stores, clothing and shoe stores, jewelry, luggage, cosmetic, perfume and beauty supply stores and home furnishing stores are included in the proclamation.
“These additional steps, in addition to those already taken, are equivalent to shelter in place orders, I understand that these decisions will continue to impact the lives and livlihoods of Iowans. But the more do now to mitigate the virus, the sooner that we will get through this so life and business can get back to normal."
Additionally, Reynolds said that healthcare insurance companies will be able to reimburse providers for telehealth visits at the same rate as in-person visits.
In response to the new coronavirus, the Iowa Department of Corrections will be quarantining people transferred into state prisons.
Jails and prisons are seen as highly vulnerable to a potential outbreak of COVID-19, due to cramped and sometimes unsanitary conditions.
According to guidance released this week, new arrivals to Iowa state prisons will be placed in a designated quarantine unit to be monitored for COVID-19 symptoms for two weeks, before being moved into the general population.
