Gov. Mike Parson is taking the steps needed to protect Missourians from COVID-19

The Star’s Tuesday front-page story, “Health experts question Parson’s stay-at-home order,” quoted critics of Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s stay-at-home order. However, it ignored several relevant facts.

First and foremost: When the governor announced a statewide order last Friday, fully 70% of Missourians were already under stay-at-home orders in local municipalities. More than 90% of the confirmed cases of COVID-19 came from those areas, which included the state’s most densely populated counties.

Most of these local orders had already closed non-essential businesses, the very step that critics quoted in the story said was needed.

Moreover, on March 21, the governor banned any gathering of more than 10 people statewide, meaning many businesses outside of areas with local orders had already been closed. If you have driven through large areas of rural Missouri since then, you have seen it yourself: People are taking the governor’s advice and staying safe at home.

The governor has been fully engaged in fighting the spread of the coronavirus, obtaining a federal disaster declaration, issuing eight executive orders and waiving more than 275 state statutes and regulations to ease burdens that interfere with response efforts. Under Parson’s leadership, the state is purchasing tens of millions of dollars worth of personal protection devices, which are being shipped out across the state to the front lines of the battle.

The success of the governor’s actions is being born out in the numbers. While things can change, Missouri’s rate of coronavirus cases per 100,000 is currently in the bottom half of all states and territories in the country, according to The New York Times. And the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the nation’s leading forecaster of coronavirus spread, projects that Missouri has more than enough hospital beds for the expected peak of cases later this month. The institute has sharply reduced its forecast of the number of future cases in the state, meaning Missouri’s curve is getting flatter.

Missouri’s actions are more aggressive than those in several nearby states: Iowa, Arkansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma all lack a comprehensive statewide stay-at-home order.

By ignoring these facts in its story, The Star failed to provide its readers with a complete picture. The truth is, Gov. Mike Parson’s steady, effective approach is working to keep Missourians safe.

This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Gov. Mike Parson is taking the steps needed to protect Missourians from COVID-19."