Missouri governor skips mask while touring businesses, says that’s a personal choice

With the state reopening Monday, Gov. Mike Parson said wearing a mask in public comes down to individual choice and responsibility.

Parson, who toured businesses in southwest Missouri, did not wear a mask, though several of the employees surrounding him did. His stops included a Disabled American Veterans charitable business called Red Racks Thrift Store in Joplin and a Bass Pro in Springfield.

“I chose not to,” Parson, 64, told reporters during a briefing when asked why he did not wear a mask in Joplin.

Parson said he and his wife, Teresa Parson, donned masks during a visit to Cox Medical Health in Springfield because it was required.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a mask in public to help limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Some states and communities have required masks in stores and restaurants but others, including Ohio and Stillwater, Oklahoma, have withdrawn such mandates after residents complained it infringed on their rights.

Parson said “there was a lot of information on both sides” of whether or not to wear a mask.

“It really goes back to your personal responsibility,” Parson said.

Parson said he didn’t think wearing a mask should be mandated by government.

“Again, common sense, self-discipline, your choice,” Parson said.

Randall Williams, director of Missouri Health and Senior Services, said wearing a mask comes down to “situational awareness.”

“As we re-emerge, we are certainly cognizant that there are going to be plenty of circumstances where you don’t need to do that,” Williams said, about wearing a mask.

Williams said by being “incredibly purposeful” about social distancing, he has not needed to wear a mask.

Parson wasn’t the only lawmaker not wearing a mask Monday in the Missouri Capitol.

A floor above where the governor held his daily press briefing, the Missouri House resumed hearing bills as part of the legislative session. More than 150 representatives from every corner of the state sat side by side in the House chamber, conversing with colleagues while listening to debate on various bills.

Some covered their mouth and nose with a mask.

The majority did not. And some had their mask resting underneath their mouths or dangling to the side.

A request for comment from the Speaker of the House Elijah Haahr was not returned.

Only some Missouri state senators wore masks Monday but largely stayed six feet away from each other.

When lawmakers entered the building, Capitol police checked their temperature and asked them questions about travel and possible exposure to coronavirus.

“They are treated a little bit differently because they all have been screened,” Williams said.

Parson called the lawmakers “essential to be in here and be working right now.”

“The House of Representatives needs to make that choice, not the governor’s office for them,” Parson said, of whether the representatives need to distance and wear masks.

Parson would not say whether he thought the House was violating the state’s distancing order.

The legislature is set to adjourn May 15.

This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 8:15 PM.