Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa’s health care system is being pushed to the brink and she has issued a statewide mask mandate for many public places.

The governor has ordered bars and restaurants to close at 10 p.m. and masks must be worn by staff AND by customers when they’re not sitting at a table. Face coverings are required indoors, in public spaces and state buildings when someone cannot stay six feet away from others for at least 15 minutes. It does not apply to schools. The governor is also limiting the crowd size for weddings, funerals and other gatherings to 15 people indoors and 30 people outdoors. These limits apply to family gatherings, too.

As of last night, there were more than 15-hundred Covid patients in Iowa hospitals — that’s one in every four patients and Reynolds warned that trend will get worse due to the number of active infections in Iowa. The head of the state teachers union said he was disappointed the governor had failed to require face masks in schools. The Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman said the new restrictions fall far short of what’s needed to relieve the stress on Iowa’s hospitals and frontline workers. Both of Iowa’s Republican U.S. Senators praised the governor’s actions — and urged Iowans to wear a face mask.