Missouri will ease COVID-19 restrictions May 4, including ban on large gatherings
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson added critical details to his reopening plan Monday, including an end to his ban on large gatherings and exemption of certain businesses from social distancing requirements put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.
As protesters opposed to government-ordered stay-at-home orders periodically shouted at him, the governor told reporters Monday that all businesses will be permitted to open on May 4.
Most businesses, including gyms and fitness clubs, will be required to adhere to certain guidelines, such as maintaining six feet of space between individuals. But those rules will not apply to people in jobs that require closer contact, such as those working in barber and cosmetology shops, hair salons and tattoo parlors.
In those cases, Parson’s order will leave it up to the individual businesses to implement safety measures for employees and customers.
Some businesses, such as retail locations, will face occupancy limits. Restaurants will be allowed to resume dine-in service as long as tables and seating are spaced according to social distance requirements.
Parson’s March 21 order banning gatherings of more than 10 people will be allowed to expire May 4. That means amusement parks and attractions, concerts, funerals, museums, school graduations and weddings will be permitted. So will events in large venues and stadiums.
Local governments are still permitted to enact stricter parameters for business. For example, stay-at-home orders in Kansas City and Jackson County remain in place until May 15 and will not be impacted by the governor’s actions.
Some communities, Parson noted, may be able to reopen at a faster rate than others.
“This will be the turning of a dial,” he said, “not the flip of a switch.”
Parson’s new measures will expire May 31.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who has at times criticized Parson’s more lax efforts, split with the governor over whether large event spaces such as movie theaters should be allowed to reopen.
But in a series of tweets Monday afternoon, he spent most of his energy on fellow Kansas City-area officials who are relaxing their stay-at-home orders along with Parson rather than waiting until later in the month. Clay and Cass counties’ are expected to relax their directives along with the state on May 3.
“I won’t speak for Missouri statewide, but for Kansas City I’m still of the view it’s too soon for things like larger stadium or arena events — even with distancing — given how COVID has spread previously,” Lucas said. “I think it’s too soon for that in our suburbs too for what it’s worth.”
But Lucas thanked Parson for issuing an order that does not supersede local governments’ instructions.
“It’s clear that these guidelines, while written for our state broadly, aren’t geared to our state’s largest city or its surrounding communities,” Lucas said. “I encourage all my peers to listen to our regional medical experts to roll out guidelines tailored to the KC metro, not Cuba, MO.”
Parson has repeatedly said that in order to safely lift restrictions on business, Missouri must increase its capacity to test for COVID-19 to 40,000 to 50,000 tests per week. As of Sunday, a total of nearly 71,000 tests have been performed in Missouri.
Of those tests, there are 7,171 confirmed cases and 288 deaths since early March.
Todd Richardson, director of the state’s Medicaid program, said Monday that state and private testing capacity has expanded as more facilities come online and availability of resources improves.
Additionally, Richardson said, the state has expanded its testing criteria to allow more people to get a test.
Parson said that even after restrictions are lifted, “if you don’t feel comfortable going out, don’t go out. Stay at home.”
The governor has faced criticism from both sides over his actions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Public health experts have said he reacted too slowly and when he finally did issue a stay-at-home order it was too lenient.
He’s also been dinged by members of his own party, with many Republicans calling his actions unconstitutional.
There will be plenty of people second guessing his decisions, Parson said, but “what we’ve been dealing with is roughly 50 days since we began. At the time, people didn’t know what to expect.”
Everyone, he said, was trying to take actions to protect the people of Missouri.
The Star’s Allison Kite contributed to this story.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 4:31 PM.
