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We wish Gov. Mike Parson would have done it sooner, but we commend him nevertheless for issuing a statewide stay-at-home order Friday.
"There comes a time when we have to make major sacrifices in our lives. Many of us make sacrifices each and every day, but now more than ever, we must all make sacrifices," Parson said. "This is not about any one individual person. This is about our families, friends, neighbors and the entire state of Missouri. For the sake of all Missourians, be smart, be responsible and stay home, Missourians."
The order came as 2,113 Missourians had tested positive COVID-19, and at least 19 had died.
The governor held off on issuing the order, arguing Missouri is a diverse state, and local/county governments were best suited to make decisions right for them.
It's true, Missouri's population diversity ranges from metro cities to tiny towns spread apart by miles of farmland.
However, municipalities making individual decisions leads to a patchwork of protection against COVID-19.
Before Parson's order, Missouri was one of nine states that had not issued a stay-at-home order. Of those, we were the state with the highest number of coronavirus cases, according to the Kansas City Star.
The order isn't a strong stay-at-home order. Cole County's, for instance, is more restrictive, which the state order allows.
The county order requires non-essential businesses to be closed, but the state order merely requires such businesses to "adhere to the limitations on social gatherings and social distancing." That means nonessential businesses in the rest of the state can be open as long as they have no more than 10 people inside who stay at least 6 feet away from each other.
That sets up an inequitable and unfortunate situation: Cole County's nonessential businesses are suffering more than those statewide that do not have similar county/city orders.
However, rather than look for loopholes, everyone needs to look to stay at home for the greater good of our community, Mayor Carrie Tergin said on KLIK's Sunday Morning Roundtable radio show.
We agree.
It's going to take a unified effort to get through this pandemic, so we can start the process of rebuilding our businesses and returning our lives to normal.
News Tribune