ST. LOUIS 鈥 Top St. 不良研究所导航网址-area medical leaders on Friday implored Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to take action before the coronavirus pandemic reaches such proportions that hospitals no longer have room to care for the sick.
Dr. Alex Garza, head of the St. 不良研究所导航网址 Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, warned that, if things don鈥檛 change, the regional health care system will be overwhelmed in two weeks, with no backup in sight.
鈥淲e鈥檙e at war. And right here, right now, the virus is winning that war,鈥 Garza said. 鈥淚t will take significant and decisive action through individual acts and determined public policy to get us through.鈥
Parson responded, urging Missourians to 鈥渢ake personal responsibility,鈥 social distance, wear masks and limit gatherings 鈥 but he steered clear of a mandate, as he has throughout the pandemic. 鈥淕ov. Parson has been very clear and consistent about his support for local control,鈥 Kelli Jones, Parson鈥檚 communications director, said in a statement.
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St. 不良研究所导航网址 County Executive Sam Page, in step with Garza, unilaterally announced on Friday morning a shutdown on most activities, closing the interiors of bars and restaurants, asking residents to limit gatherings to 10, and ordering them to leave home only for work, school, exercise, medical care, worship or essential supplies. But the rest of the region was not in sync. St. 不良研究所导航网址 Mayor Lyda Krewson limited gatherings, too, but let bars and restaurants stay open.
And the leaders of some outlying counties declined to adjust restrictions at all.
Franklin County Commissioner Tim Brinker said mask mandates aren鈥檛 working. Residents need to use common sense, he said: 鈥淭his is not rocket science.鈥
But Garza said at a briefing on Friday that individual behavior can no longer address the disaster, and called for coordinated action from leaders across the region and state. Hospital projections show that a delay of even one week would allow a far more severe crisis to develop, he said.
鈥淲e are all one big county now,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he lack of a mask mandate in one county has implications for residents and health care professionals in other parts of the state.鈥
Garza called for a 鈥渟afer at home鈥 policy much like Page鈥檚.
4,000 new cases
Meanwhile, Missouri, Illinois and the St. 不良研究所导航网址 region continued to break virus records: Missouri reported on Friday 4,005 new coronavirus cases, clearing 4,000 new infections for the fourth straight day, and six of the last seven 鈥 and pushing the state鈥檚 seven-day average to another record, 4,124. Missouri also reported on Friday 20 new virus deaths, which now total 3,359.
Illinois broke records for new daily cases, 15,415, and total hospitalizations, 5,326.
And the St. 不良研究所导航网址 task force reported four new records on Friday: New hospital admissions rose to 125 from 109 on Thursday. The seven-day average of new admissions hit 105, from 101 on Thursday. The seven-day total hospitalizations average jumped to 628 from 599. And inpatient confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations leapt to 719 from 681.
Garza said the current volume of coronavirus hospitalizations in the St. 不良研究所导航网址 region is nearly three times what the task force considers sustainable; at the current pace, virus hospitalizations could easily double within two weeks. The state needs to plan now for that eventuality, he said at the briefing, his voice breaking with emotion.
鈥淲e have no backup that we can suddenly muster to come in and save the day,鈥 he said.
Page announced on Friday new public health actions: He closed bar and restaurant interiors for patrons, allowing outside dining and takeout.
And he mandated a partial shutdown. For four weeks starting at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, St. 不良研究所导航网址 County residents should leave home only for specific purposes. They must also form 鈥渟upport bubbles鈥 with 10 or fewer family members or friends, and limit all interactions to that group.
Page, like Garza, called it a 鈥渟afer at home鈥 order.
鈥淚 wish this wasn鈥檛 where we had to go, but it is,鈥 Page said. 鈥淭he virus continues to rage across our country and across our community.鈥
He said it could have been avoided if there had been a national strategy to control the virus.
Other area leaders did not follow suit.
Brinker insisted that there is essentially a mask mandate in Franklin County.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 written it, pen on paper,鈥 he said. But the county requests that residents mask up in public, quarantine when exposed and space out gatherings.
Besides, he said, cases are rising in counties with mask mandates. 鈥淚s it going to make the difference that we need made right now?鈥 he asked. 鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 been proven not to. You鈥檙e living in St. 不良研究所导航网址 County now, are you not? And has it worked?鈥
St. 不良研究所导航网址 County added 930 new cases on Friday; Franklin County added 96.
St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann said his administration has been trying to educate people on the need to voluntarily wear masks, wash hands, socially distance and stay away from small gatherings.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to assume that what we鈥檝e got here is a lot of COVID fatigue,鈥 he said. County residents 鈥渨ere doing the right thing鈥 for months, he said. So the county is working now on mass mailings, social media messaging, even billboards. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a critical time and we need to do the right thing.鈥
COVID police?
But Ehlmann said mask mandates are impossible to enforce.
鈥淗ave the COVID police shown up and told them, put a mask on?鈥 he asked. 鈥淚sn鈥檛 what they鈥檙e doing basically voluntary anyway?鈥
In St. 不良研究所导航网址, Krewson on Friday said the city would not issue new restrictions, after announcing an order Thursday that will limit private gatherings to no more than 10 people.
The city has recorded a far lower rate of new COVID-19 cases per capita than surrounding counties, she said, and most new COVID-19 cases in St. 不良研究所导航网址 were linked to small social gatherings, not businesses.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to put the restrictions where we know the problem to be,鈥 Krewson said. 鈥淲e based this order that we issued on the data. ... If that changes, of course we are always going to continue to consider all the other options.鈥
Recent spikes in COVID-19 cases were traced to small gatherings around Halloween, Krewson said, warning against similar gatherings for the Thanksgiving holiday.
But St. 不良研究所导航网址 County鈥檚 actions on Friday generated some quick support 鈥 even among restaurateurs.
The Breakaway Cafe in Bel-Nor, a neighborhood restaurant near the University of Missouri-St. 不良研究所导航网址, will have its last night of indoor dining on Saturday, pare back its menu, and pivot to takeout orders, owner Matt Quinlisk said Friday. He may set up some heat lamps on the cafe鈥檚 small patio for outdoor dining.
鈥淚鈥檓 not opposed to this,鈥 he said. 鈥淚f everyone sticks with the program, we can put this behind us in the next month.鈥
Dan Schultz, general manager of Fallon鈥檚 Bar & Grill in Olivette, called for a statewide shutdown.
鈥淭he folks who are doing the right thing,鈥 he said, 鈥渁re the ones who are being punished the most.鈥
Surviving the first shutdown was hard on staff, he said. Another will be painful.
鈥淚 live one mile from the bridge to St. Charles,鈥 he said. Chain restaurants there are 鈥減acked to the gills鈥 on a Tuesday night.
鈥淎nd I鈥檓 over here spaced out,鈥 he continued, 鈥渁nd have 15 people in on the same night.鈥
Nassim Benchaabane of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Bryce Gray • 314-340-8307 @_BryceGray on Twitter bgray@post-dispatch.com
鈥榁irus is winning,鈥 task force warns as leaders urge Missouri governor to take action