Coronavirus
COVID-19 update: Truckers warn supply chain in jeopardy; confusion reigns on shutdown
As the number of COVID-19 deaths in Johnson County increased to a total of nine Monday, truckers are sounding the alarm that the the nation’s supply chain could be in jeopardy if the government doesn’t help protect them.
Truckers say that every day, they are hauling needed goods into COVID-19 hot spots with no protective equipment, testing capabilities or ways to self-quarantine or seek treatment if they become sick.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association sent a letter Friday to President Donald Trump on Friday saying: “HELP — MAYDAY — 9-1-1.”
“Right now professional drivers are busting their butts to care for the nation,” said the letter, signed by Todd Spencer, president and CEO of the Grain Valley-based organization. “Their hard work and personal sacrifice should not include their health or even their lives if at all possible or preventable.”
If drivers start testing positive, there could be a tremendous reduction in drivers willing to risk everything, Spencer said.
Johnson County reports two more COVID-19 deaths
Two more people in Johnson County have died from the coronavirus disease, bringing the county total to nine, health officials said Monday.
The county reported that of the people who have died, five were in their 80s, three in their 70s, and one was in their 40s. More than 210 people in the county have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Monday morning, according to county health officials.
Meanwhile in Wyandotte County, there have been seven deaths. The county reported on Monday that it has 176 confirmed cases.
Statewide, there have been 845 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 25 deaths.
Coronavirus pandemic has altered Missouri governor race
Missouri’s gubernatorial race could be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a referendum on Gov. Mike Parson’s response to the disease and it’s aftershocks.
A little more than a month ago, Parson was campaigning on the booming economy, record-low unemployment and his accomplishments as governor.
But since COVID-19 has invaded Missouri in early March, schools and businesses have closed, unemployment has skyrocketed and state budget has cratered.
Democrat Nicole Galloway who hopes to unseat Parson, has pushed Parson to act more aggressively, pressing him to declare a state of emergency, expand testing, establish a COVID-19 response command center and clear statutory barriers with the unemployment insurance program.
The impact the pandemic will have on the race is uncertain. A lot can change in the next seven months.
Confusion remains over what constitutes essential businesses
Kansas City health officials and suburban police officers have fanned out across the metro, instructing business owners to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
Hundreds of complaints about business violating the orders have been received by city and county governments on the Missouri side and police departments in Johnson County. Enforcement, however, varies across the jurisdictions and from business to business.
The area’s stay at home orders instructed all nonessential businesses to cease in-person operations. But the orders included broad exemptions for those deemed necessary.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has stressed repeatedly over the last few days that “essential” businesses are those residents need to weather the pandemic. “Essential,” he says, is not the same as “valuable”; everyone’s business has value.
“If you have to ask whether your business is essential or not, it likely is not,” Lucas said in a news conference at City Hall last week.
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