and that the recent spike is only in the 18-25 age group with all other age groups have lowering numbers of positive cases in iowa. september 3 – at least 107 schools in the state had reported cases. september 4 – iowa had a positivity rate during the last 24 hours of over 15%. september 7 – the scope of the outbreak among the iowa national guard unit in minnesota had been "misstated," according to the commander of camp ripley. he said fewer than 60 out of 500 soldiers were sent home, principally due to exposure risks, rather than as active cases. september 12 - iowa had a positivity rate during the last 24 hours of over 14%, had 425 icu beds available and 744 ventilators (76.64%) available, and had 90 covid-19 patients in icu with 35 covid-19 patients on a ventilator. september 16 - bars and nightclubs reopen at 5pm in black hawk, linn, polk, and dallas counties but story and johnson county bars remain closed until sunday september 20. september 19 - iowa had a positivity rate during the last 24 hours of almost 15%, had 409 icu beds available and 778 ventilators (80.21%) available, and had 76 covid-19 patients in icu with 38 covid-19 patients on a ventilator. september 26 - sixteen counties reported a positivity rate greater than 15% over the previous 14 days. september 29 - the hospitalization rate increased, with 61 new admissions of virus patients in 24 hours, for a total of 390 virus hospitalizations. 100 patients were the icu, with 31 on ventilators. there were 18 deaths. october 2020 october 5 – two staff members tested positive at scott community college belmont campus, and the school announced it would close until october 12. october 5 – the globe gazette reported that "the worst of the covid-19 pandemic in iowa appears to have moved from college campuses to more rural pockets, particularly in northwest iowa." lyon county had a two-week average positive case rate of 31.5%. october 6 – restrictions were lifted in johnson and story county, the last two counties impacted by a five-week bar closure. on-campus cases at universities had dropped. the university of iowa reported six new cases, for a total of 2,011 among students, and 48 among employees since aug. 18. iowa state reported 53 new cases september 28 and october 4, for a total of 1,754 cases since august 1. on october 9, the ames haunted forest announced it would close for the first time in 20 years, due to covid-19 and the derecho. half of the college-age actors for the event were reluctant to confirm participation. an october 10 article in the omaha world-herald noted that both iowa and nebraska were in the top 15 states for cases, but iowa had seen 72% more deaths, 1,441 compared with 514 in nebraska. this was attributed to iowa having a higher percentage of elderly people, and three times more outbreaks in long-term care homes. on october 12, iowa cases had broken the 100,000 mark. the nature of the outbreak had changed, from a "cluster of nursing home and meatpacking plant outbreaks early on to 47% of positive cases now in the 18 to 40 age group." state medical director and epidemiologist dr. caitlin pedati said "what we have seen is what we would call more of a community activity, or community spread, of this virus in some areas." october 14 - a campaign rally by president trump at des moines international airport was attended by thousands of supporters. des moines mayor frank cownie urged attendees to wear masks. rally organizers played a phil collins hit, "in the air tonight", and few attendees wore masks. a nonprofit, rural america 2020, sponsored a red-and-white billboard near the event which featured a big arrow pointing towards the airport and the words "trump covid superspreader event." on october 20, a nursing home in amana reported that 36 of 42 residents, and 25 staff tested positive. on october 22, 70 long-term care facilities in the state had reported cases, including 779 deaths. rural areas throughout the midwest were experiencing a surge, and in iowa's rural carroll county, about 20% of tests were positive. on october 22, a researcher at the university of iowa reported that nine patients were involved in a clinical study of regeneron, the drug used on president trump. results for efficacy and safety were not expected for some months. on october 23, one headline stated that "iowa hospitals fear overwhelming patient surge if coronavirus cases continue to climb." november 2020 on november 9, the iowa department of corrections reported covid-19 outbreaks at iowa prisons in three areas. at prisons in clarinda, there were positive cases in 377 inmates and 16 staff members, and in rockwell city, there were positive cases in 254 inmates and four staff members. at anamosa prison, there were 485 infected inmates and 50 infected staff members. on november 10, governor reynolds issued a proclamation that, among other things, "prohibit all social, community, recreational, leisure or sporting gathering with more than 25 people indoors or 100 people outdoors unless all people over the age of 2 wear masks" and required that "ll events of over 10 people must ensure 6 feet of social distancing between groups." the proclamation stated that all employers "shall evaluate whether any more of their employees can feasibly work remotely and to the extent feasible, shall take steps to enable such employees to work from home." subsequent paragraphs called for businesses remaining open to take precautions "including appropriate employee screening, social distancing practices, and increased cleaning and hygiene practices;" yet stated that that section shall not be used for enforcement. the proclamation was to come into effect after midnight the next day, and last through november 30. may 2021 on may 20, 2021, at the close of the 89th iowa general assembly, governor reynolds signed into law the vaccine passport ban law which prohibited organizations or local governments from requiring individuals to show proof of receiving a covid-19 vaccination and prevents state and local governments from issuing id cards which would indicate an individual's vaccination status. the law took effect immediately. earlier in may 2021 and based on new guidance from the centers for disease control and prevention as well as the iowa department of public health, governor reynolds signed into law a ban on school districts and local and county governments from requiring masks worn on public property if the individual is fully vaccinated. this law took effect on may 20, 2021. september 2021 on september 27, 2021, federal judge robert pratt issued a temporary order, which overturned the ban on mask mandates for school districts (iowa code section 280.31), barring governor reynolds and iowa department of education director ann lebo from enforcing the iowa law banning mask mandates for school districts. judge pratt's temporary order will remain in effect until the court issues an order for a preliminary injunction. on september 29, 2021, 6,563 iowans had died from covid-19 since the covid-19 pandemic began. currently, 624 were hospitalized with 157 in icus and 81.2% of covid-19 hospitalizations were unvaccinated iowans. during the last week, 1,300 people tested positive every day for covid-19 in the state with a 9.5% average positivity rate for the state of iowa over the last 14 days. government response food distribution in charles city on april 3, 2020, governor reynolds defended her government's response, arguing that the measures taken, including closing schools and some businesses, were equivalent to a mandatory shelter-in-place or stay-at-home directive. on july 7, governor reynolds indicated that "local governments cannot implement mask requirements because they are not consistent with her public health disaster proclamation." on july 8, the mayor of muscatine issued a mask mandate, on advice from the city attorney that "the mandate is authorized under a local emergency declaration and iowa's home rule provisions." on july 21, the mayor of iowa city issued a mask mandate, in defiance of governor reynolds' order. on july 23, johnson county issued a mask mandate that would go into effect august 10, 2020, the same day of the derecho in iowa. on july 29, nearly 300 iowa doctors sent a letter to governor reynolds urging a statewide mask mandate. on august 7, governor reynolds was photographed greeting people at the hardin county gop sweet corn feed in eldora without wearing a mask. on august 9, governor reynolds "asserted she believes cities and counties cannot implement mask orders unless she says they can," raising the possibility of legal challenges under iowa's 1968 home rule constitutional amendment. on august 27, governor reynolds' bar closures went into effect for black hawk, dallas, johnson, linn, polk and story counties, after returning college students flooded into bars without taking health precautions. governor reynolds said that a mask mandate was "not enforceable." on august 28, the head of the iowa restaurant association expressed "dismay at the governor's order that has closed bars in six counties after coronavirus cases spiked among young adults," and suggested raising the drinking age as an alternative. on an august 31 visit to waterloo, senator joni ernst said she was "so skeptical" of the statistics on cases and deaths due to the virus. her statements were similar to a presidential tweet which was removed from twitter as misinformation linked to qanon. on september 2, senator ernst modified her position, releasing a statement saying that "over 180,000 americans have died because of covid-19," and "what matters is that we are getting the resources to iowa that are needed to fight this virus." the mayor of cedar rapids signed an emergency declaration for a mask mandate. on september 15, governor reynolds lifted bar closures in four counties. although iowa was considered a "hotspot" on that day, the governor said she "trusted iowans to do the right thing" and would not issue a mask mandate. on september 16, ap reported that governor reynolds rejected a statewide mask order, calling it a "feel-good" action. she also blocked local officials from enforcing local mask mandates. on september 24, after inspections at five meatpacking plants where outbreaks sickened thousands of workers, state regulators issued a $957 fine to one plant "for a minor record-keeping violation." on october 4, a white house task force report advised against gatherings of more than 25 people in the des moines area. on october 2, with a surge of cases in the state, governor reynolds relaxed state guidance on quarantine, so that "workers and children in day cares and schools don't have to quarantine as long as they and the infected person with whom they were in contact were consistently and correctly wearing face coverings." this state guidance contradicted the cdc, "which recommends a 14-day quarantine for anyone who is in close contact with someone who has tested positive regardless of mask use." bars in johnson and story counties were allowed to reopen. on october 4, a white house coronavirus task force report said that many virus-related deaths in iowa were preventable, and that community transmission remained high. a mask requirement was recommended for iowa. on october 14, thousands of supporters, including governor reynolds, attended a presidential campaign rally at des moines international airport, with few masks being worn. on october 16, governor reynolds said that iowans "need to monitor" what's going on in their community. on october 18, the white house coronavirus task force report for iowa said "the state needs to strengthen mitigation efforts." on october 19, iowa state auditor rob sand and the u.s. treasury department inspector general advised governor reynolds' that $21 million of iowa's cares act covid-19 funds had not been used properly, and would need to be reallocated or repaid. an article in the gazette described how federal stimulus funding was supporting iowa's rural hospitals through the pandemic, and said that major federal legislation would be needed to keep some critical access hospitals in rural areas from closing. on october 22, many businesses remained closed, despite the fact that iowa was one of the few states that had never imposed a full stay-at-home order. on october 23, representative cindy axne, whose district includes des moines and southwestern iowa, said, "our older iowans — many have not been able to leave their homes because they do not feel safe ... if you