Gov. Mike Parson’s office stressed that it’s “imperative” that citizens take COVID-19 precautions — including wearing a mask — as the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force makes a plea for a statewide mandate.
Although the Parson administration urged citizens to take precautions, the request for a mask mandate in Missouri was apparently turned down, Fox 2 reported.
“Missouri’s COVID-19 numbers are up and continue to increase. It is imperative that Missourians take personal responsibility and social distance, wear a mask, practice personal hygiene, and limit their gatherings,” Communications Director Kelli Jones said in a statement. “Governor Parson has been very clear and consistent about his support for local control. Every individual MUST take action to minimize the spread of COVID-19.”
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force made a call for a statewide mask mandate on Friday (November 13), making an appeal to state officials that mandates at the county level wouldn’t be sufficient enough.
“Making a mask mandate a county by county question is not going to give the healthcare systems the time they need to save lives,” said Dr. Alex Garza, head of the task force.
The plea came as officials reported St. Louis hospitals had reached 90% capacity.
In a press conference last week, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page said at the rate COVID-19 was spreading, further guidelines were likely.
"If this doesn't change a week or two from now and we're standing here with the same rate of increase, then we will have to be considering more restrictions," Page said at that time.
The state COVID-19 dashboard shows there have been more than 25,500 new cases in the past seven days, averaging 3,650 new cases daily at a rate of 416 cases per 100,000 residents. Officials administered more than 109,000 tests during that time, from November 7 through November 13.
As of November 13, there are 2,525 COVID-19 patients in Missouri hospitals, including 559 in the ICU and 275 on ventilators, state data show.
Photo: Getty Images.