As COVID hits home, Gov. Mike Parson wears a mask for TV but leaves Missouri unsafe
The news that Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and first lady Teresa Parson had tested positive for COVID-19 was shocking. The two underwent more testing Wednesday afternoon. The governor has canceled all official appearances for the rest of this week, including Friday’s planned gubernatorial debate with his challenger, Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway.
All of Missouri wishes them good health in the days to come.
The story is a reminder of the seriousness of this potentially lethal disease, which is still spreading. On April 22, the state reported 196 new cases of COVID-19. Five months later, on Sept. 22, it reported 1,712 new cases, nearly a nine-fold increase.
For months, we have urged the governor to take the COVID-19 threat more seriously. Sadly, he has not done so.
A recent TV ad in the Missouri governor’s race, for example, called “Quarterback,” includes 13 shots of Parson. In every one of those shots, he’s wearing a face mask. Yet he stubbornly refuses to issue a statewide mask mandate.
It’s been clear for some time that wearing a protective mask can significantly reduce exposure and sickness from the virus. “Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in July.
That same month, the Missouri Nurses Association and the Missouri State Medical Association urged Parson to impose a statewide mask requirement. “It is imperative that all people wear masks in public places,” the groups said.
The need for masks seems obvious to almost everyone except Gov. Parson.
Don’t be misled by a commercial. Parson has appeared publicly on several occasions in large, crowded gatherings without a mask. On Monday, Parson told KCUR in Kansas City that he did not support a September CDC recommendation of a statewide mask requirement.
“This state is so diverse,” he told a reporter. “It affects the cities, the urban areas a lot different than it does Douglas County, Missouri, or Carter County, Missouri. … I have to take a balanced approach to it.”
The governor needs to do more homework. The 14-day COVID-19 case rate in Carter County is 7.4 cases per 10,000 people, according to a database compiled by The New York Times. In Douglas County, it’s 3 cases per 10,000.
Their COVID-19 rates are much higher than in Kansas City, where masks are required, or St. Louis. Both cities have averaged just over one case per 10,000 residents during the past two weeks.
Rural areas aren’t immune to the deadly illness, and the governor should stop acting as if they are.
Parson’s claim of a “diverse” state gives the game away. His mask-wearing ad appears to be airing only in Kansas City and St. Louis, where support for masks is more widespread. In rural areas, Parson is often seen mask-free, signaling his lack of support for the life-saving precaution.
Parson clearly thinks wearing a mask is about politics, not safety. That explains why the state’s response has been so slow and insufficient, leading to unnecessary illness and death.
The governor has urged Missourians to wear masks when they can’t keep their distance from their neighbors. But he won’t require them to do it, and COVID-19 continues to spread. No TV commercial can erase that record, nor will it change voters’ judgment about Parson’s bad decision-making during the pandemic.
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.