GOP lawmakers in Missouri Capitol aren’t wearing masks, and people are getting sick

Masks are not required at the Missouri State Capitol. But they should be.

While COVID-19 continues to sicken and kill Missourians, there is no screening process for lawmakers to enter the statehouse. Daily testing isn’t an option either. Social distancing is impossible in certain areas of the venerable building, which remains open to visitors.

Republican leadership in Jefferson City cannot continue to ignore public health guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to slow the spread of the coronavirus. To purposely sidestep CDC recommendations puts the health of all Missourians at risk.

The Missouri Senate met in person this week despite a raging pandemic and no mask mandate. The Republican caucus outnumbers Senate Democrats 24-10. The majority party agreed last week to return to Jefferson City this Tuesday.

Missouri requires lawmakers to meet, discuss and vote on measures in person. But leadership continues to drag its feet in dealing with the outbreak. And transparency is lacking.

Senate Minority Floor Leader John Rizzo, a Democrat from Independence, said at least two state senators were quarantined last week after being exposed to COVID-19. One — Greg Razer of Kansas City — came forward to publicly discuss his isolation. The other did not. Rizzo fears an uncontrollable spread could follow.

Majority Floor Leader Caleb Rowden, a Republican from Columbia, did not return calls seeking comment.

“It makes sense to just follow CDC guidelines,” Rizzo said. “We should wear a mask. But we know the majority party won’t do that.”

We chided Democrats last May for finding it “too tough” to wear masks in the early days of the pandemic. But the business-as-usual approach favored by the Missouri GOP needs to be reevaluated. People are dying and positive cases are still being reported, while doses of the new vaccine are “exceptionally limited” in the state.

Shouldn’t common sense prevail? How difficult could it be to institute a mask policy or work remotely? Other state legislatures have made provisions to keep public officials and the community safe.

Some have suspended legislative sessions, limited access to state capitols or explored alternatives to physical meetings. Parameters have also been put in place to conduct legislative business within the constitutional constraints of each state, according to the National Council of State Legislators.

More than 441,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state since the start of the outbreak in March, resulting in 6,461 deaths, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

‘Be a patriot. Wear a mask.’

“It has become such a politicized thing to wear a mask or not wear a mask, and that is the issue,” Rizzo said. “It is absurd to me that lines have been drawn in the sand.”

Out of an abundance of caution, House leaders sent members home last week after a COVID-19 outbreak at the Capitol. But a proposal from Democrats that would have required all 163 members of the House to wear masks on the floor was soundly rejected.

House Speaker Rob Vescovo, a Republican from Arnold, did not return inquiries about the need for a mask mandate.

One week into the legislative season, several state lawmakers were quarantined after exposure to the virus, including Razer and state Rep. Keri Ingle of Lee’s Summit, both Democrats.

Ingle tested negative, but the ordeal was taxing on her family, she said.

“Be a patriot. Wear a mask,” Ingle wrote on Twitter.

The Missouri Capitol is an old building with poor ventilation and no outdoor space to conduct the people’s business. The statehouse is ripe for a breakout. While the Senate is significantly smaller than the House, it is only a matter of time before COVID-19 sweeps across the halls of the rotunda and into the Senate.

Republicans’ refusal to enact measures to keep the public safe is an abject failure of leadership.