Parson extends Missouri social distancing order to June 15, amid dispute over enforcement
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday that his order requiring social distancing will be extended until June 15, even as some are questioning who is supposed to enforce that directive.
Parson said the extension should not be construed as evidence that efforts to combat COVID-19 have been ineffective. To the contrary, he said, data shows the state is making great strides in containing the virus.
Instead, Parson said he’s extending the order to align it with the declared state of emergency and because some areas of Missouri are further along with economic reopening than others.
“We must continue to social distance, use common sense and make responsible decisions to protect ourselves and others,” Parson said.
He emphasized that graduations, weddings, county fairs and summer camps can still take place as long as six feet of space is maintained between individuals.
Parson’s order also includes occupancy limits on some businesses.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas also announced Thursday that he will ease restrictions put in place to combat COVID-19. The new guidance, which allows businesses to operate at 50% capacity, will expire July 5.
Parson has said repeatedly that enforcement of his order is up to local officials.
Yet after videos of holiday weekend crowds ignoring social distancing orders at the Lake of the Ozarks emerged this week, local officials pushed back on that notion.
Leaders in Morgan and Camden counties recently told the Springfield News-Leader that the state must enforce Parson’s order.
“We don’t have anything to enforce something like this,” Shawn Brantley, the administrator at Morgan County Health Center, told the News-Leader. “Any questions about enforcing this we’re just forwarding to the governor’s office and the state health department.”
Camden County Sheriff Tony Helms agreed in a written statement this week, saying state law “gives the authority and responsibility for investigating and enforcing public health violations to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.”
Asked about the impasse Thursday, Parson, the former longtime sheriff of Polk County, said the law is clear that enforcement is a local responsibility.
“It is what it is,” Parson said. “The local health departments, for example, shut down restaurants when they aren’t doing something right. The state doesn’t do that.”
The state is not going to take it upon itself to ensure individuals follow the social distancing order, Parson said.
“It’s a recommendation for people to follow is what it is,” he said. “I’m not going to send some sort of police action out there to enforce whether somebody is six foot apart or whether they’re not. That’s a dangerous road to go down when government has that sort of authority over individuals.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 4:18 PM.
