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Gov. Reynolds reflects on time spent outside Capitol during COVID-19 pandemic, calls state's finances 'manageable'

The governor held her press conference in the statehouse for the first time in months to discuss COVID-19 and recent protests in Des Moines.

DES MOINES, Iowa — For the first time in months, Gov. Kim Reynolds addressed Iowans from the State Capitol.

Among her points included recent protests following the death of George Floyd, as well as her administration's continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She noted that the State Hygienic Lab surpassed 5,000 tests per day twice in the last week, once on Saturday and again on Monday. Over 164,000 Iowans have been tested for the virus as of Tuesday afternoon.

Reynolds also touched on Buena Vista and Crawford Counties, which have both seen spikes in cases. 

A TestIowa site in Buena Vista County opened shortly after an outbreak was confirmed. Reynolds announced that 1-in-4 residents in the county have been tested for COVID-19. 

Reynolds also reported that 1-in-9 residents in Crawford County have been tested after a TestIowa site opened there. 323 out of the 528 residents who've tested positive have recovered from the virus.

The state is now partnering with the Iowa Emergency Management Association and other county emergency managers statewide to distribute and build six regional personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpiles. 

"Additionally, as part of our ongoing PPE distribution efforts, the State is transitioning to providing a 14-day supply of PPE and supportive county requests," Reynolds said.

Before this partnership, Iowa provided a seven-day supply due to PPE shortages.

RELATED: Buena Vista County listed in FEMA top 10 list with highest number of cases per 100K in last 2 weeks

Reynolds then reflected on her time spent working outside of the Capitol Building.

"When I left in March to work from the State Emergency Operations Center, we were in the very early stages of understanding COVID-19, what it's impact would look in Iowa, and the best course of action for mitigating it's spread, and protecting Iowa," Reynolds said.

Reynolds officially returned to her office Friday afternoon, and she said looking at her desk was like looking at a time capsule.

"Returning was like opening a time capsule of sorts, with reminders of early planning, meetings and conversations, discussions of PPE [personal protective equipment] shortages and potential risk it posed to our health care professionals, and our concerns regarding the low volume of tests available at that time."

RELATED: Coronavirus in Iowa by the numbers: Cases, testing and deaths

These issues, she said, were tackled by her team as quickly and responsibly as possible.

"These were serious challenges that had to be overcome and we knew we quickly," Reynolds said. "From the start, we took these and all issues seriously and made decisions responsibly, as we moved fast ... because we had to. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

"We've learned a lot over the last few months and we'll continue to as we manage COVID-19 for the long term. The pandemic is not over and there remains much work to do."

Reynolds said she is looking forward to resuming the legislative session on Wednesday.

RELATED: Iowa Legislature reconvening after recess from pandemic

"We're grateful to have them back and I look forward to finishing the state budget and addressing a range of other issues."

The Iowa Revenue Estimating Conference estimates a .8% or $65 million reduction in state revenue for Fiscal Year 2021 due to the pandemic. 

Reynolds called the state's finances "manageable".

"Because of the fiscal responsible approach that we've taken to budgeting in recent years, we are in a solid position with cash reserves that are full," she said. 

Reynolds also urged Iowans to head to the polls to vote in Tuesday's primary elections. Elections will not be impacted by the mandatory curfew set in place for Polk County.

RELATED: West Des Moines mayor signs curfew proclamation

RELATED: Curfew issued for Polk County to remain in place until further notice

WATCH: Complete coronavirus coverage from Local 5 on YouTube

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