More businesses set to open for Memorial Day weekend Reynolds announces

More businesses will be allowed to open in time for Memorial Day weekend Gov. Kim Reynolds announced during her news conference on Wednesday.

Reynolds said as of Friday, movie theaters, zoos, aquariums and wedding venues will be allowed to reopen. Swimming pools will be allowed to open for lap swimming and swimming lessons only Reynolds added. Casinos and amusement parks are not included in the newest update for the proclamation. Reynolds said she is working with both industries to figure out how to best operate moving forward.

'Memorial Day is celebrated as the official start of summer,” Reynolds said during the news conference on Wednesday. 'It's important that Iowans get back to spending their summer in the great outdoors.”

Bars will be allowed to reopen, starting May 28 at 50% capacity for indoor and outdoor seating.

And on June 1, schools are allowed to resume school-sponsored activities Reynolds said. This includes sports such as baseball and softball. Reynolds said she will announce more details next week as the current emergency proclamation is set to expire on May 27.

Restrooms and shelters in state parks and campgrounds are also set to reopen this Friday in time for Memorial Day weekend according to Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon. Only those with overnight reservations will be allowed in campgrounds Lyon added, meaning no visitors will be allowed to visit campsites.

'We are seeing a stabilization and we aren't overwhelming our health care systems,” Reynolds said when asked what data she is seeing to allow less restrictions. 'We have to move forward. We have to recognize the fact that the virus is in our communities.”

Reynolds added that older adults and those with underlying health conditions should continue to stay home.

Iowa saw 238 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the time of the news conference on Wednesday, for a total of 15,534 virus cases across the state. Locally, Jefferson County has one new case for a county total of 13. Henry County saw two new cases for a total of 49. Washington County had no new cases on Wednesday.

Iowa also had 16 new deaths due to COVID-19 across the state, bringing the total numbers of deaths due to the virus to 383.

So far, 110,213 Iowans have been tested for the virus and 8,236 Iowans have been confirmed as recovered from COVID-19, including 133 individuals in Washington County, 41 in Henry County and eight in Jefferson County.

As of Wednesday, 381 Iowans are currently hospitalized across the state with 126 of those patients in ICU. 84 of Iowa's COVID-19 hospital patients are on ventilators.

In RMCC Region 5, where Washington, Henry and Jefferson counties are located within, 42 individuals are hospitalized with 20 being in ICU. Ten of those individuals in the southeast portion of the state are on ventilators.