‘Indefensible’: Missouri Gov. Parson’s COVID guidance for schools is just plain dangerous

Gov. Mike Parson’s ill-timed announcement Thursday of relaxed “guidance” for COVID-19 precautions in K-12 education was misguided and just plain unsafe.

Missouri must do more, not less, to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. COVID-19 is more dangerous now than it has ever been, as evidenced by the fact that on Thursday, Missouri reported 4,603 COVID-19 cases, a record for a single day.

Nearly one in four Missourians tested has COVID-19. More than 500 Missouri patients infected with the coronavirus are in intensive care. The University of Missouri now plans to shut down almost all in-person teaching after Thanksgiving.

Public health officials and physicians are begging the state to respond to the exploding crisis, which is far worse than last spring.

So what does the governor do? He tells K-12 schools that students and staff exposed to the virus need not quarantine if they were wearing masks as long as they continue to use them.

“Wear a mask, stay in school,” the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said. In a statement, Parson said the guidance will help “further protect students and educators from the spread of the virus.”

How, exactly? Of course, it’s difficult to take seriously any mask-related recommendation from Parson, who has brazenly, publicly and repeatedly declined to wear a mask, even when attending large gatherings.

Criticism of the school guidance was quick — and deserved.

“Masks are not a substitute for proper quarantine measures in schools or elsewhere,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement.

With uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 in Kansas City, Lucas wisely pledged to continue to follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Phil Murray, president of Missouri NEA, said “permitting persons exposed to COVID-19 to remain in contact with students and educators is indefensible.”

Some suggested the new guidance is intended to prompt rural districts to require more masks, with a goal of allowing more teachers and students in classrooms.

That argument ignores the obvious: Missouri must do both — require masks in schools and quarantine people exposed to the coronavirus, whether wearing a mask or not.

“We know that COVID-19 is not going away soon,” the governor said. It isn’t going away in part because Missouri isn’t doing enough to make it go away. It’s that simple, and clear.

And Parson’s recommendation not only endangers teachers and students but their families as well.

COVID-19 is not an urban-rural issue. The virus is ravaging the countryside as much as the cities. Hospitals are filling up. Police, firefighters, health care workers and teachers are getting sicker everywhere, causing critical worker shortages.

The Kansas City region is talking about additional steps for virus mitigation in the days ahead. Lucas said this week he wants to talk with counterparts on both sides of the state line about additional steps to reduce COVID-19 exposure, including a return to limits on large crowds indoors.

That includes “looking at earlier closing times for bars, where we have seen some recklessness,” Lucas said.

But individual exposures at cozy house parties and small meetings are a growing challenge. “We haven’t figured that out yet,” the mayor admitted.

Let’s state the obvious: Everyone is tired of COVID-19. We’re tired of masks. Tired of canceling parties and celebrations. Tired of holidays apart from family and friends.

But people are still dying of COVID-19 in Missouri, an average of 10 every day. We must intensify our efforts to keep everyone safe, and easing school guidelines will only put more people in harm’s way.