Governor Mike Parson has declared a state of emergency in response to COVID-19 in Missouri.
During a press conference at 5p.m. in Jefferson City, Parson said that the emergency declaration allows for “greater flexibility in utilizing our resources and deploying them.” He emphasized that it was not “because healthcare providers feel overwhelmed.”
Parson did not close schools or issue an order about the sizes of gatherings, as cities have done, because he said, “It’s a local issue.”
He got some pushback from reporters who said that leaders on the local level are looking to Parson for coordinated guidance on these issues.
“Well that hasn’t been brought to my attention,” Parson said, explaining that he is regularly holding briefings with the state’s mayors.
His declaration comes after State Auditor Nicole Galloway issued a statement this morning, demanding that the governor make a declaration so the state can access funds and take actions to respond to COVID-19.
“These funds are needed immediately to rapidly expand the availability of testing for COVID-19,” Galloway stated. “As we have seen in other states and across the globe, this disease spreads quickly. While it may seem like we’re not in the midst of a pandemic now, it’s only a matter of time unless we act accordingly. Hope is not enough.”
Parson said the state is taking steps to expand COVID-19 testing capability by working with Washington University and University of Missouri — Columbia. They are sharing their positive test results for the coronavirus with the universities’ lab teams. He said, “we greatly appreciate their help.”
On March 12, Wash. U. infectious disease experts said it will likely take their team “a few weeks” to have local testing capability, during a “BJC Healthcare COVID-19 Command Center Town Hall” that was livestreamed on Youtube at 4 p.m.
The experts expressed frustration about the lack of access to testing.
“That’s been a big bottleneck to date,” said Dr. Clay Dunagan, BJC Senior vice president and chief clinical officer. “It’s been widely publicized that it’s very hard to get testing. That causes two challenges. With a patient in front of you, it causes challenges in what you can figure out about them. And secondly, it doesn’t give a good picture of the shape of the epidemic.”
Dr. Hilary Babcock, infectious disease specialist and a Washington University School of Medicine professor, said, “There’s been a lot of difficulities with FDA requirements and lots of technical challenges. It’s not that anyone doesn’t share the desire to get more testing. It’s just a challenge to get there.”
At the press conference today, a leader of the state lab said they can conduct about 68 tests per day, and possibly up to several hundred a day. In Missouri, 94 people have been tested, and 90 have been negative, Parson said.
Parson also said the emergency declaration allows the state to construct temporary structures with the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) should the need arise. He’s participating in regular briefings with Vice President Mike Pence and other governors. He’s also holding briefing with local mayors.
“We knew this was coming and we’re taking precautions,” Parson said.
Nancy Gemeinhart is the commander of the BJC’s incident command structure, which includes “experts, doers, getters and thinkers” in addressing infectious disease. During the March 12 townhall, she was asked about BJC’s current supply of personal protective equipment and the specific ventilators used to treat coronavirus patients.
“A lot of these supplies, particularly the isolation masks, are made overseas so that limits what’s out there right now,” Gemeinhart said. “But we are monitoring our supplies. We’ve come up with a strategy to use conservation methods. And our supply team is working to get as much as possible.”
One thing the experts emphasized repeatedly was the need to prevent a surge in the number of people infected to prevent the region’s hospitals from being overrun, as being seen in Italy and other countries.
“The amount of surge that we have in our healthcare facilities is really contributed to and driven by the amount that we are able to control the spread in our communities,” Babcock said. “So the community mitigation strategies that you all hear about in terms of canceling large crowds of people and not shaking hands are ways that we try to take this epidemic and flatten the curve that the amount of surge will still be within the capacity of our healthcare system.”
Dunagan has asked that BJC employees not travel to other parts of the state, unless it’s absolutely necessary.
“When you leave the city, you are entering an area where there’s an unknown risk,” he said. “It’s another one of these things, there are very good reasons for it and it will pay big dividends.
What we do now really has a big impact on what that surge looks like. Some of these policies seem like they’re over the top because there’s not a lot of activity right now, but we really need to get ahead of this.”
