The Democratic leaders of the Iowa House and Senate urged Republican Governor Kim Reynolds to issue a formal stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They sent a letter to the governor asking her to go further in her response to the new coronavirus
Democratic U.S. Congresswomen Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne also called on Reynolds to do the same.
Reynolds says she’s already put strong restrictions in place. Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer talked to one local politician who feels local governments know what’s best for their communities.
Even though the Iowa Legislature won’t reconvene until April 30th at the very earliest, (past the regular scheduled session) Representative Tim Kacena is keeping tight tabs on the ever-evolving health emergency.
The Democrat from Sioux City says Governor Kim Reynolds is basing her decisions on numbers, not emotions and on what she feels is best for the state.
“She’s working off the metrics she is given right now. The problem with that However, Iowa doesn’t have a good metric or model for Iowa right now.”
“I know they want to shelter in place and lock everything down, but we have to look at population densities.”
Kacena who is leaving the Iowa Legislature to run for Woodbury County Supervisor says local entities should have the flexibility to make decisions concerning COVID-19, instead of leaving it up to the state.
“Johnson County should be able to say, we are going to take the harsher measures . While, Woodbury County might not need it.””
Kacena says Iowa’s number one priority is keeping nursing homes safe; a group vulnerable to the virus.
“It’s up to everyone else to take care of the elderly right now so, we need the social distancing.”
“I think the scary thing is people who are asymptomatic with no symptoms at all."
Kacena says more metrics for the State of Iowa should come out next week and that’s when we’ll know if the Governor is doing enough to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“If you look at let’s say Minnesota. If you put them side-to-side ours is a little bit better. Just because we don’t call it “Shelter in Place” doesn’t mean we’re not doing the job that needs to be done.”
