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As a special legislative session gets underway for the state to spend remaining federal pandemic aid, Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday acknowledged Missourians' weariness of living with COVID-19 but urged them to continue to take precautions as winter, flu season and families gathering for the holidays begin to converge.
As the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to climb in Missouri, the number of people hospitalized for it also remains high. State health Director Dr. Randall Williams said the increase in cases is not just from more testing but from spread of coronavirus in communities throughout the state.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force reported this week 91 percent of all counties in the state have moderate or high levels of community transmission, with 76 percent having "red zone" high levels.
The red zone areas with the most worrisome numbers of new cases per 100,000 residents and lab test positivity rates continued to include all of Mid-Missouri - Jefferson City; Columbia; and Boone, Cole, Callaway, Camden, Miller, Osage, Maries, Moniteau and Morgan counties.
Parson said health care workers on the front lines who have battled COVID-19 for months without a break "are tired and overwhelmed, but they continue to rise to the challenge and take care of Missourians, and we cannot thank them enough."
He and Williams urged people to take precautions - wash hands, social distance, wear a mask and avoid gatherings - but did not mention any statewide measures to mitigate spread.
"That mask is very important, but if you're not doing the remainder (of precautions) with social distancing, staying away from large gatherings, making sure you're not with someone for 15 minutes - all of those things are really how we're going to get around the curve on the coronavirus," and all of them have to be done, Parson said.
Williams said it's not just large gatherings spreading coronavirus; people are catching it from people they know - family, friends.
"I know that COVID fatigue has set in for many people," Parson said. "However, it is critical that we stay focused and continue to be disciplined in our efforts, especially with winter, flu season and the holiday seasons approaching."
Recommendations the White House's task force made this week included that "effective practices to decrease transmission in public spaces include limiting restaurant indoor capacity to less than 50 percent and restricting hours until cases and test positivity decrease."
Other recommendations included weekly testing of all university students; having students and teachers in K-12 schools wear masks; and communicating to the public that people should not gather without masks with others who don't live in the same household, masks should always be worn in public places, and gatherings with people beyond those in the immediate household should stop "until cases and test positivity decrease significantly."
Williams said the number of hospitalizations in the state for COVID-19 is "stable but high," and constantly monitored.
Parson said the state has plenty of hospital beds available and could work with the Missouri National Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to set up more space for treatment, if needed, but he and Williams said they are continuing to search for ways to help hospitals with staffing and to help rural hospitals treat more coronavirus patients without transferring them to larger medical systems.
Special legislative session begins
Meanwhile, a special legislative session Parson called for last month for state lawmakers to craft a supplemental budget began Thursday.
Parson said the state is trying to disperse $1.2 billion.
He said the state still has Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funding from the federal government that needs to be distributed to Missourians, including for school nutrition service programs and grants to support job training and prevention of homelessness and domestic violence, as well as child support payments.
The state House of Representatives had only a brief technical session Thursday to start the budget-crafting process and is adjourned until 10 a.m. Monday for another technical session.
A House Budget Committee meeting is scheduled for noon Monday, where there will also be testimony by the Department of Health and Senior Services "on nursing home family access."
The meeting is scheduled to be in the House Chamber, where socially distanced guest seating will be available in the upper gallery on the fourth floor, but streaming options are also available at house.mo.gov.
All entrants to the Capitol will be required to submit to health screening questions and a physical screening, and the public must use the west entrance on the first level.
Before the session started Thursday, House Majority Floor Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, called on Parson to expand the session to include COVID-19 liability protections for small businesses, hospitals and health care.
"Right now, there are numerous small businesses afraid to open because of the threat of litigation tied to COVID-19. Additionally, many of our hospitals and health care professionals are asking us to help them to better be able to do their jobs by passing commonsense COVID-19 liability protections," Vescovo wrote in a letter to Parson.
"If we are to give our state the best chance to recover from this ongoing pandemic, it's imperative that we take on these issues sooner rather than later," Vescovo added.
Parson said he had just received the letter Thursday and would need to speak with legislators about how to move forward on the issue, but he has said legal liability is an important issue that should be addressed soon - if not in special session, then early in the next regular legislative session.