Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announces end of many COVID-19 restrictions in Winneshiek County and 76 other counties

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced Monday morning that she was lifting the COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants and retail stores in Winneshiek County and 76 other counties in Iowa, effective Friday.

22 counties will have restrictions extended until May 15th.  They are Allamakee County and Fayette County, as well as Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Dallas, Des Moines, Dubuque, Henry, Iowa, Jasper, Johnson, Linn, Louisa, Marshall, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Tama, Washington and Woodbury counties.

Reynolds announced she was easing the restrictions in 77 counties because Iowans need to "learn to live with the virus without having it control our lives."  She says continuing the current restrictions "is not sustainable for the long term."

Reynolds said she is also allowing religious and spiritual organizations such as churches to begin opening in the 77 counties in Iowa.  The restaurants and retail stores which open can do so "at 50 percent of their capacity."

The governor said she would continue to monitor COVID-19 statistics in the remaining 22 counties and held out the possibility that the restrictions in some of those counties might be lifted before May 15th.