DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa Board of Medicine asked Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday to issue a shelter-in-place order to further slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The board, comprised mainly of doctors, voted to send a letter to Reynolds urging her to move beyond the current restrictions she has issued and impose a public shelter order.
The board, which includes surgeons, a cardiologist, a psychiatrist and other physicians, licenses medical professionals and regulates their practice in the state.
The board’s recommendation came as COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, has spread to 65 of Iowa’s 99 counties. The number of infections has climbed to 699 people.
The doctors “believe the governor needs to go one step further and issue an order clarifying the shelter in place, discouraging individuals from meeting in groups and going out into public,” said the board’s executive director Kent Nebel. “They believe there needs to be a stronger more concise message.”
Reynolds said Friday she’s not received the letter but is interested in the board’s view.
She contends her actions to close schools, restaurants, bars, hair salons and other businesses until April 30 serves the same purpose as a shelter-in-place order issued by other states.
“There’s still some disconnect on what we’ve done and what the expectations are and actually what’s taken place in other states across this country,” she said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.