DES MOINES, Iowa - CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is singling out Iowa for lifting COVID-19 restrictions.
Walensky made the comment Sunday morning on CBS' "Face The Nation."
She confirmed to host Margaret Brennan she was referring to states like Montana and Iowa when she said now is not the time for the country to let up its guard.
Governor Kim Reynolds lifted most restrictions on businesses, gatherings and masks earlier this month, while also encouraging healthy practices.
Below is a portion of the transcript of the Face The Nation interview with Walensky.
DR WALENSKY: So what I would say is now is the time to not let up our guard. Now is the time to double down, still with 100,000 cases a day, still with over two and a half times the cases we had over the summer.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So you're talking about places like Montana and Iowa where they have lifted masking requirements. You say that's a mistake?
DR. WALENSKY: Indeed. Indeed, I- I think we're not out of the woods yet. We need to get our kids back to school. We need to get our communities back to some normal functioning before we can start thinking about letting up our mitigation strategies. So what I would say is now is the time to not let up our guard. Now is the time to double down, still with 100,000 cases a day, still with over two and a half times the cases we had over the summer.