Politics Iowa governor says cities can't require masks

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) on Tuesday said city and county officials do not have the authority to require residents to wear masks in public.

© Getty Images Iowa governor says cities can't require masks

"We don't believe that they can and that is in conjunction with the attorney general," Reynolds said during a press conference, when asked about county and city ordinances mandating mask wearing.

"We believe that when my, the public health disaster proclamation is in effect, unless the local government's declaration or proclamation is consistent with the state proclamation, unless it's consistent, then it's not appropriate or it doesn't go into effect," she added.

These are the states requiring people to wear masks when out in public

A growing number of US states have mandated the use of masks and face coverings while in public. © Provided by CNN With many states starting to lift coronavirus restrictions, more people are venturing out in public, but the number of cases is still rising in nearly half of them. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle) { medianetNativeAdOnArticle.getMedianetNativeAds(true); }); That's where masks come in.

IOWA CITY , Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors in Iowa have filed a rarely used leak charge against a Black Lives Matter protester accused of stealing a confidential Reynolds says local government officials cannot under Iowa law implement orders that conflict with public health declarations of the governor .

Reynolds said she can enable local health officials to require face coverings and she's considering it as 10 counties in Iowa show spikes in known positive Reynolds, the lieutenant governor , the state's epidemiologist and other staff all arrived at Tuesday's news conference wearing masks for the first time.

Reynolds has not ordered a statewide mandatory mask requirement, as have several other governors in an effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced a statewide face covering requirement on Wednesday, and Ohio Gov. Phil Murphy (R) said Tuesday he is issuing an order mandating people in counties with high levels of coronavirus spread wear masks.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last week ordered a statewide mandatory mask order, after he blocked local officials' authority to enforce face covering requirements.

Reynolds did not rule out the possibility of issuing an order requiring masks, saying that "all things are on the table."

She also suggested officials may roll back some restrictions, including potentially on when bars are open. She noted that much of the spread of the virus in the state is among younger Iowans.

As of Wednesday morning, Iowa reported 414 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and seven new deaths, according to the Des Moines Register.