IOWA, USA — A new proclamation from Gov. Kim Reynolds will allow more businesses across the entire state to reopen this Friday, May 8.
Campgrounds, drive-in movie theaters and tanning facilities can reopen their doors in all of Iowa's 99 counties with certain restrictions.
The 22 counties that were under coronavirus restrictions will also be able to reopen gyms, malls and other retail establishments starting Friday.
Those counties are: Allamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Dallas, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fayette, Henry, Iowa, Jasper, Johnson, Linn, Louisa, Marshall, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Tama, Washington, or Woodbury
Restaurants will not be able to reopen in those counties, however.
Dentist offices will also reopen statewide this Friday. Guidelines for dentist offices resuming their practice have been outlined by the Iowa Dental Board. Staff must have proper personal protective equipment and a reliable stockpile of it.
Social and fraternal clubs in all counties except the 22 listed before will also be able to meet with loosened restrictions. Food and beverage services will be allowed under certain requirements outlined in the proclamation.
The governor also suspended alcohol license expiration one year from the date that the license was issued.
School start dates for the 2020-2021 school year may be sooner under the proclamation. Reynolds temporarily suspended the law that prohibits a school district or accredited nonpublic school from starting its school calendar before August 23, 2020.
That's only if the school district adopts a calendar as part of its Return to Learn Plan submitted to the Iowa Department of Education that ensures any instructional time scheduled before August 23 is "in excess of the minimum instructional time of 180 days or 1,080 hours."
The suspension only applies to the 2020-2021 school year as a result of the school closures ordered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proclamation also outlines private instruction requirements.
Read the entire proclamation here:
