• April 24th: On the same day that Iowa reports its highest COVID case and death count to that point, Reynolds announces that she was loosening shelter-at-home restrictions on businesses and citizens across the state. 
  

• May 24th: As Iowa’s positive test rate and deaths per capita continue rising and passing other states, Reynolds orders that arcades, coffee shops, bars, casinos, and other indoor facilities may open up.
  

• July 21st: Reynolds is called out for the state’s decision to limit the number of COVID-19 tests in its cities. A Dubuque clinic reported that the state limited it to just 100 tests a day.
  

• Late July: Iowa public officials hide the fact that they are misreporting COVID cases. They are reporting more recent cases as having taken place months prior, which artificially lowers the infection rate and fools people into a false sense of security.
  

• August 28th: Reynolds’ popularity crashes, with just 28% of Iowans saying that they approved of her decisions during the pandemic.
  

• September 2nd: The White House task force on COVID-19, citing Iowa’s skyrocketing case rate, suggests that Reynolds close bars, implement a mask mandate, and limit gatherings. Reynolds decides not to comply with the suggestions.
  

• September 3rd: The former spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Health files a lawsuit claiming unlawful termination. She alleges that she was forced out for complying with public records requests for information about the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point, Iowa has the highest rate of new cases of COVID-19 tests in the country.
  

• The lawsuit alleges that she was “stripped of her duties and later terminated after she made repeated efforts to comply with Iowa’s Open Records law by producing documents to local and national media regarding the state of Iowa’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
  

• September 29th: As COVID numbers continue to surge in Iowa, the White House coronavirus task force says that “Test positivity and case rates have been sustained at the highest levels during the past four weeks, putting Iowa in a vulnerable position going into the fall and winter.” 
  

• The task force suggests a mask mandate — something that Reynolds continues to oppose.

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