'This is a disaster': Iowa Public Health Association asks Reynolds for mask mandate

>> THIS IS A DISASTER. WE NEED PEOPLE TO REALIZE THIS IS AN OFFER ONE AND ONE FOR ALL. -- ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL. LAURA LINA TUCKER REINDERS IS : THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE IOWA PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION, A NON-PARTISAN ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING PUBLIC HEALTH IN IOWA. SHE SAYS THE STATE’S SURGING HOSPITALIZATIONS SHOULD CONCERN EVERY IOWAN. >> THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT KEEP US UP AT NIGHT. LAURA NEARLY 1300 IOWANS ARE NOW : IN THE HOSPITAL. 240 IN POLK COUNTY, AN ALL-TIME HIGH. >> I AM SCARED OF WHERE IT WILL LAND US. LAURA TUCKER REINDERS SAYS A : MASK MANDATE NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW TO TURN THINGS AROUND. >> IT SETS THE TONE. IT PROVIDES BACKING TO OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE BEEN TRYING THEIR BEST TO KEEP THEIR BUSINESSES OPEN. LAURA: EARLIER THIS WEEK, GOVERNOR REYNOLDS REQUIRED MASKS IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS, BUT TUCKER REINDERS SAYS IT DOESN’T GO FAR ENOUGH. UNIVERSAL MASKING, SHE SAYS, WILL SLOW COMMUNITY SPREAD SIGNIFICANTLY. >> WE ARE NOT SEEING COMMUNITY SPREAD IN PLACES THAT REQUIRE MASKS. FOR EXAMPLE, SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS. LAURA THE BIGGEST COMMUNITY : SPREAD, SHE SAYS, IS IN SOCIAL SETTINGS WHERE PEOPLE ARE NOT WEARING MASKS. AND IF WE WANT TO FLATTEN THE CURVE, IOWA NEEDS TO JOIN THE MAJORITY OF OTHER STATES WITH A MANDATE. >> IT IS NOT ABOUT POLITICS. PUBLIC HEALTH SHOULD NEVER BE ABOUT POLITICS. IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE ABOUT THE EVIDENCE.

As hospitalizations surge, the Iowa Public Health Association is urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to issue a statewide mask mandate."This is a disaster. We need people to realize that this isn't all for one or one for all," said Lina Tucker Reinders, the executive director of the Iowa Public Health Association.The nonpartisan organization is dedicated to strengthening public health in Iowa.Reinders said the state's surging hospitalizations should concern every Iowan. “These are the things that keep us up at night,” Reinders said.Nearly 1,300 Iowans are in the hospital and 240 of them are in Polk County.“I am scared about where that is going to land us and how high can it go,” Reinders said. She said a mask mandate needs to happen now to turn things around. “What it really does is it sets the tone, and it provides backing to our local businesses and organizations who have been trying their best to keep their businesses open,” Reinders said. Last week, Reynolds required masks in certain situations, but Reinders said it doesn’t go far enough. Universal masking will slow community spread significantly, according to Reinders. “We are not seeing community spread in places that require masks,” Reinders said. “That’s for example, schools and hospital, where masking is universal.”The executive director said that the governor has multiple professionals and experts making similar comments. “The governor has at her disposal public health experts,” Reinders said. “Health care experts across the state who have been advising her consistently about the importance of masks and quarantining, and it’s really time for her to listen to them, and for her to also do the right thing an provide that leadership that we all need and Iowans deserve.” She said the biggest community spread is in social settings where people are not wearing masks. And if we want to flatten the curve Iowa needs to join the majority of other states with a mandate, Reinders said. “It’s not about politics. Public health should never be about politics,” Reinders said. “It should always be about the evidence and doing what’s right for Iowans.”She said if Iowans come together during natural disasters, they should work together during the pandemic. “We keep hearing a mask isn’t a silver bullet. True. It’s part of an overall strategy, but at this point we need to be happy with bronze,” Reinders said.

DES MOINES, Iowa —

As hospitalizations surge, the Iowa Public Health Association is urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to issue a statewide mask mandate.

"This is a disaster. We need people to realize that this isn't all for one or one for all," said Lina Tucker Reinders, the executive director of the Iowa Public Health Association.

The nonpartisan organization is dedicated to strengthening public health in Iowa.

Reinders said the state's surging hospitalizations should concern every Iowan.

“These are the things that keep us up at night,” Reinders said.

Nearly 1,300 Iowans are in the hospital and 240 of them are in Polk County.

“I am scared about where that is going to land us and how high can it go,” Reinders said.

She said a mask mandate needs to happen now to turn things around.

“What it really does is it sets the tone, and it provides backing to our local businesses and organizations who have been trying their best to keep their businesses open,” Reinders said.

Last week, Reynolds required masks in certain situations, but Reinders said it doesn’t go far enough. Universal masking will slow community spread significantly, according to Reinders.

“We are not seeing community spread in places that require masks,” Reinders said. “That’s for example, schools and hospital, where masking is universal.”

The executive director said that the governor has multiple professionals and experts making similar comments.

“The governor has at her disposal public health experts,” Reinders said. “Health care experts across the state who have been advising her consistently about the importance of masks and quarantining, and it’s really time for her to listen to them, and for her to also do the right thing an provide that leadership that we all need and Iowans deserve.”

She said the biggest community spread is in social settings where people are not wearing masks. And if we want to flatten the curve Iowa needs to join the majority of other states with a mandate, Reinders said.

“It’s not about politics. Public health should never be about politics,” Reinders said. “It should always be about the evidence and doing what’s right for Iowans.”

She said if Iowans come together during natural disasters, they should work together during the pandemic.

“We keep hearing a mask isn’t a silver bullet. True. It’s part of an overall strategy, but at this point we need to be happy with bronze,” Reinders said.