Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced in a statement on Thursday that the state will cease declaring COVID-19 a public health emergency on Feb. 15.
''We cannot continue to suspend duly enacted laws and treat COVID-19 as a public health emergency indefinitely. After two years, it's no longer feasible or necessary. The flu and other infectious illnesses are part of our everyday lives, and coronavirus can be managed similarly,'' said Reynolds, a Republican.
''State agencies will now manage COVID-19 as part of normal daily business, and reallocate resources that have been solely dedicated to the response effort to serve other important needs for Iowans.''
The end to the public health emergency also means Iowa's two COVID-19 websites will be decommissioned. Data regarding weekly COVID-19 cases since March 2020, however, will remain on the state's health department website.
In addition, the state hygienic lab will continue to operate the Test Iowa at Home program to continue at-home testing, according to the statement.
The Iowa Department of Public Health will also ''report relevant COVID-19 information weekly on its website, similar to how flu activity is reported.''
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