Greene County residents are encouraged to continue wearing face masks, maintaining a social distance of 6 feet from others when in public, and limiting the size of gatherings.
Greene County public health director Becky Wolf notes Gov Kim Reynolds’ Proclamation of Disaster Emergency of Feb. 5 eliminated “key prevention and mitigation measures.”
“All local public health agencies in Iowa are eager to alleviate the health, social, and economic strain placed on Iowa communities and businesses by the pandemic,” Wolf stated in her Feb. 10 Covid-19 update. “As protectors of public health, we have the responsibility to advocate for continued masking and gathering limits, based on evidence and recommendations from the CDC and IDPH.
“The significant decrease in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths provide cautious optimism. However, with the spread of variant strains of the virus and limited supply of vaccine, this is not the time to abandon masks, social distancing, or limits on gatherings. It’s because of these measures that Iowa has seen improved positivity rates, but please keep in mind: The spread of the virus or the risk of severe illness has not diminished. Trends could easily reverse if we stop the sustained progress we’ve made in the past four months.”
Wolf added that without continued masking, modeling projects a 30-fold difference in new daily cases of coronavirus and more than 400 avoidable deaths of Iowans by Memorial Day weekend.
