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READ: White House Coronavirus Task Force Report For Iowa

Iowa Public Radio | By Natalie Krebs

Published September 23, 2020 at 4:45 PM CDT

Gov. Kim Reynolds is requiring schools to plan for at least 50 percent of teaching to take place face-to-face when classes resume in August. — Gov. Kim Reynolds is requiring schools to plan for at least 50 percent of teaching to take place face-to-face in the new school year.

Read the White House Coronavirus Task Force's latest state report for Iowa, dated September 20, which says Iowa has the seventh-highest rate of new infections in the country.

The latest White House Coronavirus Task Force report has found Iowa is still in the red zone when it comes to new COVID-19 cases.

The report, which was released Sunday, found last week the state had 173 new cases per 100 thousand residents. This makes it seventh in the nation and is nearly double the national average of 86 cases per 100 thousand people.

It says 30 percent of those new cases are in Polk, Story and Johnson counties.

The report repeats its previous recommendation of a statewide mask mandate to help prevent transmission. This is something Gov. Kim Reynolds has repeatedly declined to do, calling the move unnecessary.

It also recommends dramatically increasing testing at universities to quickly find and quarantine cases on campuses, as well as ensuring rapid testing for the state’s long term care facilities.