Missouri Governor Mike Parson held a press conference today as the first in a series of daily Coronavirus updates. The governor gave a list of official guidelines he encourages Missourians to follow.
The following are in line with the CDC’s recommendations.
- Listen to and follow the directions of your state and local authorities.
- If you feel sick, stay home. Do not go to work. Contact your medical provider.
- If your children are sick, keep them at home. Do not send them to school. Contact your medical provider.
- If someone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19, keep the entire household at home. Do not go to work. Do not go to school. Contact your medical provider.
- If you are an older person, stay home and away from other people.
- If you are a person with a serious underlying health condition that can put you at increased risk (for example, a condition that impairs your lung or heart function or weakens your immune system), stay home and away from other people.
- Even if you are young, or otherwise healthy, you are at risk and your activities can increase the risk for others. It is critical that you do your part to stop the spread of COVID-19.
- Avoid social gatherings in groups of more than 50 people.
- Avoid eating or drinking in bars, restaurants, and food courts – use drive-thru, pickup, or delivery options.
- Avoid discretionary travel, shopping trips, and social visits.
- Do not visit nursing homes or retirement or long-term care facilities unless to provide critical assistance.
- Practice good hygiene:
- Wash your hands, especially after touching any frequently used item or surface.
- Avoid touching your face.
- Sneeze or cough into a tissue, or the inside of your elbow.
- Disinfect frequently used items and surfaces as much as possible.
- Practice common sense and personal responsibility.
The Governor says he has been working closely with other Missouri agencies and programs.
Missouri Medicaid Director Todd Richardson announced Missouri Healthnet has eliminated all copay for COVID-19 testing and have relaxed refill policies to allow more prescription refills. Missouri Healthnet has also updated telehealth policies to allow greater flexibility to health providers using telehealth.
Richardson announced that Healthnet has also been working with the centers for medicaid services in Washington to allow greater waiver authority.
He added that they were working to streamline the process for applying to medicaid and supplemental nutrition methods.
Annual renewals will be suspended for the months of March and April.
After the speeches given by the Governor and his guests, and during a question and answer session, Governor Parson was pressed on why he has not pushed to shut down Missouri schools, as Kansas and Arkansas have done at this time.
Governor Parson says because schools in Missouri often provided daycare and employed many people in rural communities, shutting down schools unilaterally was a bad decision.
A link to the press conference on Facebook Live can be found here.
