IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A team of experts advised Gov. Kim Reynolds last week not to relax social distancing rules, warning that doing so at this point could cause a second wave of infections and that Iowa could suffer “catastrophic loss of life” even under strict limits, according to the Des Moines Register. Days after receiving that warning, the Republican governor signed orders to partially reopen 77 of Iowa’s 99 counties and allow in-person church services and farmers markets to resume statewide.

JAMAICA, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol reports two people died Tuesday in a single-vehicle crash in Dallas County. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a minor driving with six minor passengers crashed a 2014 Toyota Sienna in Jamaica around 11:35 a.m. The driver lost control of the vehicle and struck a field entrance, killing two people and hospitalizing five others.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health announced on Wednesday 467 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 more deaths in Iowa. The new cases bring the total to 6,843 in the state and 148 total deaths.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – President Donald Trump took executive action Tuesday to order meat processing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavirus cases and the impact on the nation’s food supply. The order will use the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to keep production plants open and prevent a shortage of chicken, pork, and other meat on American supermarket shelves.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An order signed Monday by Gov. Kim Reynolds allows religious institutions to begin gathering again, but some church leaders said they do not think it is safe to do so. On Tuesday, the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa announced that 21 leaders from 10 denominations signed a statement urging religious institutions to refrain from in-person worship. The signed statement said, in part, “It is by our faith that we are compelled to love our neighbor. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, that love comes to expression by remaining physically apart.