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READ: Weekly White House Coronavirus Report For Iowa

Gov. Kim Reynolds will speak at 11 a.m.

Each week, the White House Coronavirus Task Force releases reports for states with recommendations regarding the spread of COVID-19. Read the report for Iowa for the week of Sept. 6.

The newest report issued by the White House Coronavirus Task Force says Iowa is still in the “red zone” for COVID-19 cases.

Last week, the state had the third highest rate of cases in the country. It had a positivity rate above 10 percent making it sixth in the nation, according to the report released Sunday, Sept. 6.

The report noted that the state has seen a decrease in new cases and stability in test positivity as compared to the previous week, but it still recommends that the state should close bars in 61 counties and limit restaurant capacity in those same counties.

This week’s report recommends mask mandates in metro areas and counties with confirmed COVID-19 cases in K-12 schools. Gov. Kim Reynolds has repeatedly declined to issue a mask mandate, calling them "unenforceable."

Iowa continues to have high transmission rates in counties with large university communities.

Polk, Story and Johnson counties have the highest number of new cases, representing 39 percent of the state’s new cases. The report also recommends increasing testing and contact tracing efforts at college and universities.

Natalie Krebs is IPR's Health Reporter and collaborator with Side Effects Public Media. Krebs has expertise covering health news and issues, including maternal health and rural health care access. She's covered abortion access and women's health care in Iowa and the Midwest, news from Iowa's state health agencies, and medical care and health concerns for elders. Krebs is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
Lindsey Moon
Lindsey Moon served as IPR's Senior Digital Producer - Music and the Executive Producer of IPR Studio One's All Access program. Moon started as a talk show producer with Iowa Public Radio in May of 2014. She came to IPR by way of Illinois Public Media, an NPR/PBS dual licensee in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and Wisconsin Public Radio, where she worked as a producer and a general assignment reporter.
Katarina Sostaric is IPR's State Government Reporter, with expertise in state government and agencies, state officials and how public policy affects Iowans' lives. She's covered Iowa's annual legislative sessions, the closure of state agencies, and policy impacts on family planning services and access, among other topics, for IPR, NPR and other public media organizations. Sostaric is a graduate of the University of Missouri.