O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) - St. Louis and St. Louis County will begin easing stay-at-home orders this month, but officials cautioned that the process would be slow in the area of Missouri most ravaged by the coronavirus.
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced late Tuesday that public health restrictions would be reduced starting May 18. Page said Wednesday that the reopening process will be driven by metrics such as hospitalizations, ventilator usage and rises or falls in confirmed cases.
“We have to move forward in a responsible manner,” Page said. “If we move too quickly, we know what can happen. We can have a second wave, and it can be much worse than the first wave.”
The city and county are coordinating their plans, and Page and Krewson said details will be released soon. But Page said the plan would include a recommendation that workers wear masks “and we will request everyone out in public wear masks, especially when social distancing measures, being at least 6 feet away from someone else, can’t be easily followed.”
The mayors of 25 St. Louis County municipalities want those details immediately. On Tuesday, they presented a resolution asking the county council to publish plans for emerging from the lockdown.
Businesses across most of the rest of the state reopened Monday after Gov. Mike Parson’s stay-at-home order ended, even though confirmed cases of COVID-19, the illnesses caused by the coronavirus, continued to rise. The state health department said Wednesday that Missouri had 9,102 confirmed cases, 186 more than Monday, and deaths rose by 19 for the second straight day. The department has reported 396 coronavirus deaths.
St. Louis city and county began shutdown orders before the state, and kept them going longer, because the region has been the epicenter of the virus in Missouri, accounting for about two-thirds of all confirmed cases, and about half the deaths.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the confirmed number because many people haven’t been tested and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
Kansas City began phasing in its reopening on Wednesday, but with very strict rules on social distancing and crowd sizes. Jackson County’s order ends Sunday. Other counties neighboring Kansas City and St. Louis reopened Monday.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up after two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
The Missouri State Emergency Management Agency has ordered more than $42 million of personal protective equipment and medical supplies since the pandemic began, according to data compiled for The Associated Press. The purchases are on behalf of SEMA, the state health and mental health departments, the Missouri Veterans Commission and for police and fire departments across the state.
The data shows that through Tuesday those orders included $15.4 million to buy 4.6 million gowns, $9 million for 11.3 million N95 masks, $7 million for 14.6 million surgical masks and $6.4 million for 1.8 million face shields. SEMA said it couldn’t to break down the exact quantity of supplies and dollar amount ordered from each particular vendor.
Gov. Mike Parson announced Wednesday afternoon that Missouri will receive $66 million from the federal coronavirus relief bill to provide funding for child care, to assist families needing child care, including low-income residents searching for work, as well as providers.
Parson said it’s too soon to say if the Missouri State Fair, scheduled for August, would be canceled. He expects discussions to take place next month.
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Associated Press reporter David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report.
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