FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July 24, 2020
CONTACT: press@iowademocrats.org
Trump and Reynolds’ Chaotic COVID Response Ripples Across The State As Cases Surpass 40,000
Iowans suffer as Reynolds follows in lock-step with Trump’s refusal to offer help or expand testing during the COVID-19 pandemic
DES MOINES — The disastrous impact of President Trump and Governor Reynolds’ extreme mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow across our state. Earlier this week, Iowa tragically passed a milestone of 800 deaths due to coronavirus and 40,000 cases in total. These catastrophic developments came following an all-time record high of 878 new cases in one day last week and new outbreaks reported at three long-term care facilities.
Despite the glaring severity of the pandemic, when asked about coronavirus testing, President Trump revealed that he is not interested in offering any help whatsoever to struggling Americans by saying he “personally think(s) it’s overrated.”
Reynolds has followed in lock-step with Trump’s refusal to expand testing or offer resources to Iowans. Just this week, she abruptly curtailed testing at a site in Dubuque — citing vague and unspecified “process concerns” —in spite of a raging spike in cases. Dubuque County has seen some of the sharpest coronavirus case increases in the state, with daily coronavirus cases more than quadrupling since June.
“Governor Reynolds is refusing to break with President Trump’s chaotic and destructive mishandling of the pandemic, and the 40,000 Iowans that have contracted coronavirus are now feeling the effect,” said Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Samantha Kennedy. “Republicans are playing politics at the expense of every Iowan and dismissing the severity of the pandemic by leaving vulnerable areas without access to testing.”