Warrensburg, Missouri. Early afternoon. April 11, 2020.
Johnson County, Missouri is under a “Stay at Home” order.
It’s been a month since we started up one of the vehicles sitting in our garage. After the morning rain and before the evening weather we took the opportunity to take a drive around town.
In the old days we would have just hopped into the car without a second thought. In these times we made sure we brought our COVID-19 “go bag” – with masks, extra masks, gloves, sanitary wipes, water, and a large garbage bag. Just in case.
We saw an occasional car. And very few pedestrians. Most pedestrians (and a few kids on bicycles) were alone or keeping their distance.
On a normal Saturday the streets and sidewalks are active. The only places we saw anything close to a crowded (barely) parking lot were grocery stores and the national chain home improvement store. Fast food restaurants had vehicles in their drive throughs.
East Hamilton street.
Downtown Warrensburg.
West Pine Street.
Pickup is one of the new normals.
Lodging.
Home improvement is still a thing.
Pickup and delivery.
Everyone still has to eat.
It’ll be a while.
Essential.
Gas is cheap. We’re all sixteen years old. And we’ve been grounded. [stolen from somewhere on the Internets]
A good question.
East Gay Street.
Absolutely essential.
Our town.
Maybe the social distancing thing is finally sinking in.
Stay Home. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Good luck to us all.
#FlattenTheCurve
Jefferson City – Building on Missouri’s efforts to control, contain, and combat COVID-19, Governor Mike Parson today issued a statewide “Stay Home Missouri” Order effective beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, April 6, 2020, until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 24, 2020.
The Order explicitly states that individuals currently residing within the state of Missouri shall avoid leaving their homes or places of residence unless necessary.
“First and foremost, I want everyone to know that I love this state and the people of this state,” Governor Parson said. “The people of this great state clearly define who we are in Missouri, and as Governor, I have no greater responsibility than to protect the health, well-being, and safety of all Missourians.”
In order to protect public health and prevent the further spread of COVID-19, Governor Parson’s Order includes specific guidance for staying home, social distancing, businesses and employees, schools, restaurants, firearm sales, and state government buildings.
Among other guidelines, the Order requires the following:
Individuals currently residing within the state of Missouri shall avoid leaving their homes or places of residence.
All individuals in the state of Missouri shall avoid social gatherings of more than ten (10) people.
All public and charter schools must remain closed for the duration of the Order.
Any entity that does not employ individuals to perform essential worker functions, as set forth in guidance provided by the federal government, shall adhere to the limitations on social gatherings and social distancing.
Any entity that employs individuals to perform essential worker functions, and that is engaged in retail sales to the public, shall limit the number of individuals in any particular retail location as follows:
Twenty-five (25) percent or less of the entity’s authorized fire or building code occupancy, as set by local authorities, for a retail location with square footage of less than ten thousand square feet (10,000 ft²);
Ten (10) percent or less of the entity’s authorized fire or building code occupancy, as set by local authorities, for a retail location with square footage of ten thousand square feet (10,000 ft²) or more.
The Order does not prohibit Missourians from accessing essential services, such as grocery stores, gas stations, and banks, or engaging in outdoor recreation, provided that necessary precautions are taken and maintained to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, including observing the social gathering and social distancing requirements set forth in the Order.
The Order shall be observed throughout the state and enforced by all local and state health authorities. Local public health authorities are directed to carry out and enforce the provisions of the Order by any legal means.
“There comes a time when we have to make major sacrifices in our lives. Many of us make sacrifices each and every day, but now more than ever, we must all make sacrifices,” Governor Parson said. “This is not about any one individual person. This is about our families, friends, neighbors, and the entire state of Missouri. For the sake of all Missourians, be smart, be responsible, and stay home, Missourians.”
As of today, Missouri has 2,113 positive COVID-19 cases out of 24,727 tested in a total population of 6 million Missourians. This data shows that 8.5 percent of those tested have been positive.
Of the 8.5 percent of Missouri citizens who have tested positive, approximately 22 percent have required hospitalization. This means the remaining 78 percent are recovering at home or have already recovered.
Missouri has at least one positive case in 76 of Missouri’s 114 counties. Over half of the total positive cases are in St. Louis region.
Also as of today, Missouri has 19 COVID-19 related deaths. Based on the state’s current data, Missouri’s death rate is still below one percent.
[….]
It took him long enough.
“…Based on the state’s current data, Missouri’s death rate is still below one percent….”
I am thankful for Governor Parson’s decision to impose a statewide stay-at-home order. I’m also thankful for the countless medical professionals and Missourians across the state who contacted his office in recent weeks urging him to take this action.
While the governor kept insisting urban and rural areas must be treated differently for economic reasons, the truth is we are all at risk regardless of where we live. This decision is necessary, and if it had been done sooner fewer Missourians would be at risk.
“…if it had been done sooner fewer Missourians would be at risk.”
James Baker @jspencebaker
.@GovParsonMO gets no cheers or accolades for turning in his paper late. 5:27 PM · Apr 3, 2020
Yep.
Claire McCaskill @clairecmc
AND FINALLY AT 5 central, Missouri Gov issues statewide stay at home order. FINALLY. Gross incompetence.
[….] 5:46 PM · Apr 3, 2020
“…Gross incompetence.”
Uh, yep.
Tony Messenger @tonymess
This is unbelievable. @GovParsonMO just accused other governors and mayors of issuing previous stay-at-home orders without considering the consequences. You hear that @GovMikeDeWine ? 5:07 PM · Apr 3, 2020
Yep.
Governor Mike Parson (r) [2018 file photo].
Stay Home. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Good luck to us all.
#FlattenTheCurve
“…Come on, do the right thing. Delay just means more death and suffering. Flatten the goddamned curve…”
Missouri Governor Mike Parson (r) still has not issued a “stay at home” order for the state. Because, we don’t know, “rural, something, something.”
Meta.
Yesterday morning on Show Me Progress I put up a post titled “Are you smarter than Missouri’s governor?,” highlighting the Lafayette County Commission’s “stay at home” ordinance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – as opposed to the refusal of Missouri Governor Mike Parson (r) to do the same. There has been a precipitous rise in cases in Lafayette County.
The post caused a significant traffic spike. Significant as in the largest number of daily “hits” in almost five years of operating on this platform.
With a traffic spike comes comments and trolling. Show Me Progress is set so that I must personally approve all comments before they’re posted. I see the IP address and the e-mail of the commenter, along with their typed remarks.
I try not to engage right wingnuts directly. By any definition of their thought processes and ideology, it’ a colossal waste of time. I generally delete their comments as they’re in moderation. There’s an old music adage: “You can’t teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and it annoys the pig.” So, I tend to delete trolling comments and ignore them.
Unless it amuses me.
Yesterday morning I received the following, unedited (it went into the trash):
All the armchair warriors .. Your not in charge!
Till you are in control if your (R) or (D) sit back and be quiet.
Your time to comment comes at the polling station.
Since we don’t have all the information we must assume the decisions are best for the majority
Even if it’s not good for you..
A champion of the First Amendment, eh? And don’t start with, “wait, aren’t you censoring this person?” Don’t be an idiot. The First Amendment applies to government action. If trolls want to spew stupidity on the Internets they are perfectly free and able to start their own blog. A place where people can freely choose to read their drivel, or not.
You think they kept their opinion and counsel, not speaking out, from January 2009 to January 2017? Right…
“Even if it’s not good for you..” Seriously, someone believes that. “The needs of the 1%, outweigh the needs of the many” is quite a moral perversion.
That deference to authority figure(s) “…[s]ince we don’t have all the information…” is the ultimate laziness in the Information Age. Such laziness as a foundation for all other social behavior is so 21st century.
Grammar and incoherence aside, somebody should inform this poor person that the current governor of Missouri was not elected to that office.
This (unedited) also went into the trash:
Your article is a hit piece not news. Governor Parsons is doing a great job. In case you are not aware of this we live in a federal style of government. Therefore the local towns can issue a stay at home order when necessary. The whole state does not need to shut down. Show some respect.
Show some respect, learn to spell your governor’s name.
Something, something, Federalism backwards. Ignore actual expertise (science! math!). Ignore the problems in a pandemic (science! math!) generated by a patchwork of responses from county to county, and town to town, because, you know, people don’t ever travel from one place to the other. [That’s how a fucking pandemic works.] Ergo, tautology. Deference to authority, no matter how incompetent. Obvious ignorance of the concept of exponential growth. And willfully ignoring that rural Missouri doesn’t have the health care capacity to deal with the exponential growth of cases of COVID-19 to come.
If I’d bothered to answer this one directly it would have been: “Fuck off, you Neolithic self-righteous sociopathic prig. How’s that for the respect you deserve?”
There are hotspots across Missouri. Urban, suburban, and rural. The whole state does need to shut down. Lives are at stake.
Governor Mike Parson (r) [2018 file photo].
Well, Governor Parson (r)?
Stay Home. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Good luck to us all.
#FlattenTheCurve
Statistics from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services released yesterday indicate 17 confirmed COVID-19 cases and one resulting death in Lafayette County.
