WASHINGTON, DC - The latest White House Coronavirus Task Force report on Iowa says the state is at risk heading into winter.
It says cases and positivity rates have reached their highest level in the last month, which puts the state in a vulnerable position.
"Test positivity and case rates have been sustained at the highest levels during the past four weeks, putting Iowa in a vulnerable position going into the fall and winter," the report said.
The report places Iowa in the “red zone” for having the 6th highest rate of new cases in the country, and in the “orange zone” for having the 10th highest positivity rate.
The report once again called for a statewide mask order, while also calling for a reduction of indoor dining and bar capacity.
Governor Kim Reynolds has continually declined to impose a mask order. She has closed bars in six counties, and has extended that order on bars in Story and Johnson counties until this Sunday.
Twelve counties, many in northwest Iowa, have high virus positivity rates. Three northwest counties have especially high rates, with one of the them, Lyon County, approaching three times the state average of 10 percent.