Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Saturday directed Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Dr. Randall Williams to order statewide social distancing.
The order includes new measures to protect the health and safety of Missouri citizens and frontline workers.
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to develop, this is a critical step in protecting the health and safety of Missourians,” Parson said. “I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for all citizens to practice social distancing and abide by this order, which is backed by intense deliberation and knowledge.”
The order — which takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday, March 23, and is expected to remain in effect until 12:01 a.m. April 6 — states that, “in accordance with the guidelines from the President and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, every person in the State of Missouri shall avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people.”
According to the order, social gatherings are defined as “any planned or spontaneous event or convening that would bring together more than 10 people in a single space at the same time.”
The order also states that, “in accordance with the guidelines from the President and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, every person in the State of Missouri shall avoid eating or drinking at restaurants, bars, or food courts; provided, however, that the use of drive-thru, pickup, or delivery options is allowed throughout the duration of this order.”
In addition, “people shall not visit nursing homes, long-term care facilities, retirement homes, or assisted living homes unless to provide critical assistance” and that schools should remain closed, but allows those schools to continue providing child care and food and nutritional services for those who qualify.
The order does not prohibit people from visiting a variety of places, including grocery stores, gas stations, parks and banks, “so long as necessary precautions are taken and maintained to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, including maintaining at least 6 feet of distance between all individuals that are not family members.”
The order authorizes local public health officials the authority to enforce the provisions of the order by means of civil proceedings.
“This is a serious time for our state and nation, and we must continue taking all steps necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19,” Parson said. “The more people reduce their public contact, the sooner the virus will be contained and the sooner we can overcome this challenge.”
According to state officials, at least 90 cases have been confirmed in Missouri — including one in Perry County, which was announced late Saturday night — with three deaths. The first fatality was reported on March 18. Those numbers do not include the case in Perry County.
There are more than 24,000 confirmed cases in the United States, and more than 300 people have died.
COVID-19, which stands for "coronavirus disease 2019," is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2.
COVID-19 is a member of the coronavirus family of viruses, some of which can infect people and animals, named for crown-like spikes on their surfaces.
The viruses can cause the common cold or more severe diseases such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and COVID-19, the latter of which first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China.
Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually the elderly or those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.
For more information about COVID-19, call the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ 24-hour hotline at 1-877-435-8411.
For more information regarding COVID-19 and CDC guidance for local response, visit www.coronavirus.gov.
For Missouri specific information, visit the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services at health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus.
For more on this story, see the March 26 edition of the Republic-Monitor or visit perryvillenews.com/category/covid-19.
