Iowa to lift some coronavirus business restrictions on May 1

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) announced Monday that she will lift some coronavirus restrictions on businesses in 77 of the state's 99 counties on May 1, allowing them to reopen with limited capacity, the Des Moines Register reports.

The big picture: Counties that are permitted to partially reopen must either have no coronavirus activity or have seen a decrease in positive cases over the past 14 days, in line with federal guidelines published by the White House.

What she's saying: Reynolds said the state is shifting from an "aggressive mitigation strategy" to a targeted containment effort in order to jump-start its economy.

• "Instead we must learn to live with COVID virus activity without letting it govern our lives," Reynolds said in a press conference Monday.

Details: Restaurants, fitness centers and retail stores in those counties will be able to operate at 50% of normal capacity.

• Malls can open at 50% capacity, but they must keep play areas and other common seating areas closed.
• Social, community, recreational and leisure sporting events can open with limits of 10 people.
• Spiritual and religious gatherings that adhere to social distancing guidelines can also reopen.

By the numbers: Iowa has so far reported 5,873 cases and 127 deaths from the virus. At least 36,090 tests have been conducted, according to Johns Hopkins University data.