Governor Kim Reynolds says the trajectory looks “really good” for COVID-19 cases in Iowa, following her lifting of the mask mandate and most other COVID-19 restrictions last Sunday.

The Iowa Public Health Association wrote a letter to Reynolds this week, stating their belief that her decision to lift gathering restrictions was not rooted in evidence or expert opinion and did not come as a recommendation from the state department of public health. While Iowa has recently seen a decrease in COVID-19 positive test rates and hospitalizations, the IPHA says they’re concerned the downward trends will reverse if mitigation efforts are abandoned. Reynolds told KCII at an event in Washington Thursday that she has been consistent in her approach to the pandemic, and she is not advocating for Iowans to be carefree when it comes to social distancing, “We’ve been at this a year, people know what’s going on, the message hasn’t changed, businesses know what to do, they’re going to take care of employees, they’re part of the family. They’re going to make sure that their environment is safe so that patrons feel comfortable coming in and utilizing their facilities so we know what we need to do.”

Reynolds cited hospitalization numbers as a decision factor in “dialing down” mitigation efforts, as they dropped to a six-month low this past week. The IPHA letter states that the mandate that was in place until February 7th reinforced the correct message that masks and social distancing are critical in reducing the spread of COVID-19, but that the new message from the governor is that it is no longer necessary to be conscientious in protecting ourselves and our communities.