Report says Parson, before getting COVID, visited state building despite cluster warning
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson continued with a visit to a state office building after his staff had been informed that it was the site of a COVID-19 cluster, according to emails obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The meeting, set up so Parson could express his appreciation to state workers for their work during the pandemic, took place on Sept. 23, the week before he tested positive for coronavirus.
The emails show that Lori Croy, a communications officer at Missouri’s Department of Commerce and Insurance, asked Parson spokeswoman Kelli Jones whether the governor wanted to proceed with an event at the Harry S Truman State Office Building in Jefferson City “given the building situation.”
Croy described a “small cluster” of cases in the building through a forwarded message to Jones, which included 12 positives among the more than 100 tests administered. Most of those infected showed no symptoms, according to the emails reviewed by the Post-Dispatch.
“Governor Parson still plans to swing by on Wednesday,” Jones wrote. Croy replied that the building would reserve one of its large conference rooms to help with social distancing.
An email to department staff that week said Parson was visiting “to extend his appreciation to the department for their exemplary work during the COVID-19 pandemic.” It also spoke about the need for social distancing and mask-wearing during the gathering.
Parson, after his COVID-19 diagnosis on Sept. 23, reported no symptoms and returned to work on Oct. 5 following an isolation period in the governor’s mansion. The Republican is on the Nov. 3 ballot, opposed by Democrat Nicole Galloway.
