Parson says ‘poor decisions’ made at Lake of the Ozarks, but enforcement up to locals
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson chastised partygoers who flouted social distancing guidelines over the Memorial Day weekend at Lake of the Ozarks, but said enforcement of any rules would be left to local health officials.
Parson’s comments, at a news briefing Tuesday, came after videos from the regional tourism destination circulated on social media, sparking anger by showing large groups of people disregarding public health recommendations intended to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. As of Tuesday the disease has infected 12,291 people in Missouri and caused 686 deaths.
On Monday and Tuesday, public officials from St. Louis County to Kansas City and the state of Kansas asked anyone who had been failing to employ social distancing at the lake to self-quarantine for 14 days on their return home. Many feared that that the lake visitors would pick up the virus and take it home to their communities.
“Unfortunately, there were some poor decisions that were made and the social distancing was not followed,” Parson said.
Parson had lifted statewide restrictions on gatherings May 4, but said people must adhere to maintaining six feet of social distancing.
“I think it’s important when social distancing is not followed, this is potentially dangerous for everyone, especially our most at-risk individuals,” Parson said Tuesday.
Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the agency will work with local health departments if the need for more testing becomes apparent.
Parson said the state would not intervene in enforcing social distancing mandates.
“You can’t send somebody out with every person in the state of Missouri to make sure they’re staying six foot apart, I mean it’s not even practical to do that,” he said. “And I am not going to send the National Guard, I’m not going to send the highway patrol out to monitor this.”
Local health agencies can file a petition against businesses that aren’t following social distancing protocols.
“What they decide to do on the local levels is up to them,” Parson said. “That’s their businesses there, that’s their people there, their economy depends on a lot of that.”
The Missouri Democratic Party criticized Parson’s recent response to the pandemic.
“Governor Parson has lost control and the past few days have made clear that there is a massive vacuum of leadership in our state,” executive director Lauren Gepford said in a statement.
She cited the crowds at the Lake of the Ozarks as well as confusion over testing numbers that resulted in artificially lower percentages of positive cases.
The gatherings at the lake drew national attention and provoked concern from officials in Missouri and Kansas.
Self-quarantine
Rex Archer, director of the Kansas City Health Department, said people who failed to social distance while at the lake should seek testing for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days.
“I do want people to understand that you can get this virus and not know you have it, you can pass it to high-risk people,” he said.
In addition to getting tested and quarantining, Archer said they should wear masks in public.
Any increase in cases resulting from the lake gatherings won’t be evident in data for several weeks.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas told The Star Monday that he had no intention of requiring individuals who had gone to the lake to self-quarantine, because it was not enforceable.
Officials in St. Louis issued a travel advisory. The county health department urged those who ignored the rules to self-quarantine for 14 days or until they tested negative for COVID-19.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Kansans who had visited the Lake of the Ozarks should quarantine for 14 days.
While travelers are asked to quarantine, the region is not being added to the state’s list of areas where quarantine for travelers is mandated. That list currently includes cruises and international travel as well as New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maryland.
“The reckless behavior displayed during this weekend risks setting our community back substantially for the progress we’ve already made in slowing the spread of COVID-19,” KDHE Secretary Lee Norman said in the news release.
