While Governor Kim Reynolds lifted the mask mandate and eased many COVID-19 restrictions this week, Washington County Public Health continues to encourage residents to maintain social distancing practices.

Administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski says the county is being allocated 300 doses of Moderna vaccine weekly this February, which is being distributed among those 65 years and older and other groups specified in Phase 1B of the state’s vaccination plan. While overall the state’s number of positive cases and hospitalizations have decreased over the last couple weeks, Pettit-Majewski says it’s still going to take months until most residents are vaccinated, “I mean we’ve seen our percent positivity rates go down and that’s excellent. We would like to continue to see that maintain, or go down further because that will really reduce the burden on our public health and healthcare system as we’re trying to get these vaccines out. If we are dealing with a sudden reemergence of coronavirus cases because we’ve gotten lax, that will make our job much more challenging.”

Pettit-Majewski adds that COVID-19 mitigation efforts are especially important as the Iowa Department of Public Health recently confirmed three cases of the U.K. variant of COVID-19, two of which were detected in Johnson County. Data has shown that this strain is believed to spread more easily than the original strain. Iowans are recommended to wear a face mask or covering, practice social distancing with those outside your household, clean your hands frequently, and stay home if you feel sick.