As opening days go, it could have been better. Or safer, at the least.
The first day of the Iowa Legislatureâs 2021 session featured the normal opening-day remarks from both Republican and Democratic leaders. But most noteworthy about Day 1 was the public rally with hundreds of people packed into the Iowa State Capitol rotunda to protest mask-wearing and other public health orders.
There was nothing illegal about the rally, and it was conducted peacefully.
Erin Murphy
But that made it no less irresponsible and dangerous. And itâs no stretch to imagine it could, ultimately, turn deadly.
COVID-19 is still sweeping through Iowa. The disease is not running as rampant as it was during the peak surge in November and December, but the two-week averages for cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain higher than they were at any point of the pandemic before that surge.
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