IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa experts advised Gov. Kim Reynolds last week not to relax social distancing rules, warning that the state could suffer a “catastrophic loss of life” even with them and see a second wave of infections.
In a research paper made public Tuesday, the professors from the UI College of Public Health said they saw “considerable uncertainty” in how many deaths Iowa could get, ranging deaths from 150 to thousands even with strict social distancing rules.
Days after receiving that warning, the Republican governor signed orders to partially reopen 77 of the state’s 99 largest counties and allow church services and farmers markets to resume statewide.
