To: Detroit/Seattle
Workers' Voice mailing list
October 12, 2020
Re: COVID denialism in action in Iowa
While Iowa reels from record numbers of the coronavirus, Trump and his followers are saying, “To hell with it! Let’s hold a rally and spread the virus as far as possible!” Pumped up on steroids, President Trump is planning a mass rally in Des Moines this Wednesday, October 14th. The Democratic mayor of Des Moines, Frank Cownie, has pleaded with the White House to avoid this super-spreader event, but they ignore his pleas. Cownie has issued a mask mandate for the city of Des Moines, but the city’s jurisdiction does not extend to the airport where the mass rally is going to take place. Besides, the Republican governor of Iowa, Kimberly Kay Reynolds, refuses to issue a mask mandate for the state and says that local jurisdictions cannot issue a mask mandate themselves. So Trump and his minions feel safe flouting local jurisdiction. Safe from the law -- but not from the virus, of course.
Trump’s rally will occur at a time when Iowa, like much of the country, is chalking up record positive tests for the virus and record number of hospitalizations. The virus did not “disappear” during the summer as Trump predicted – quite the opposite! – and is now surging in an autumn wave. Iowa is one of the worst states, having a 14-day average positivity rate of 9.4%. (1) Its rate of increase is double the national average, and 17 counties have a positivity rate over 15%. These counties are mostly in the northwest part of the state near Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota, rural areas but surrounding some urban centers with meatpacking plants. Some of these counties have a positivity rate in the mid-20s!
Trump’s own White House coronavirus task force has warned against holding super-spreader events like mass political rallies. But does Trump pay attention? Of course not! Trump’s rally this Wednesday will help spread the virus throughout Des Moines, including its schools. Gov. Reynolds insists that schools must remain open, with 100% in-person instruction, if the surrounding county has a positivity rate under 15%. But this is three times the rate recommended by national and international health agencies! Public health experts agree that with anything over 5% positivity, the schools should shut down. The school board in Des Moines has wisely decided to comply with the health experts and defy Gov. Reynolds; schools in Des Moines are now closed to in-person classes, and education is completely online. In response, Reynolds is threatening to cut off their funding to force the school board into unhealthy decisions.
Gov. Reynolds is trying to back up her orders and gain public
support by suppressing information about the spread of coronavirus in
the schools. The state refuses to release data about covid-19 in the
schools even though this data is collected from local school districts.
Stepping into the breach, a woman named Sara Willette started
collecting the data herself, calling local school districts and getting
reports directly from them. She
partnered with the teachers union and started a website that’s now
become a popular source of information for parents and teachers
throughout the state. (2)
Initiatives like this have helped block Trump’s stupid order to open
up the schools without planning, without resources, and regardless of
the spread of the virus. People can now learn about the spread of the
virus in schools despite Reynolds’ attempt at censorship.
[1]: Staff reports, "Iowa surpasses 100,000 coronavirus cases as COVID-19 deaths continue to increase", October 12, 2020, in the Des Moines Register.
[2]: COVID-19 in Our Schools:
the Iowa State Education Association and Iowa COVID-19 Tracker have
partnered together to create a statewide map of COVID-19 outbreaks and
quarantines in our schools. <>
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