Missouri National Guard mobilized to responsed to COVID-19
Missouri is bracing for a surge of coronavirus patients. The number of deaths associated with COVID-19 grew to nine. Governor Mike Parson is mobilizing the state's National Guard.
Missouri is bracing for a surge of coronavirus patients. The number of deaths associated with COVID-19 grew to nine. Governor Mike Parson is mobilizing the state’s National Guard.Gov Parson said Friday in a statement that the use of the National Guard will enhance coordination among state government partners and help the state “overcome this global pandemic.”
St Louis County Executive Sam Page is asking recently retired doctors, nurses or other health care professionals come back to work. Page, himself a physician, said he’s worried that hospitals will be overwhelmed soon.
As of Thursday, the state had reported 502 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Later Thursday, St. Louis County officials announced the ninth death in the state: a woman in her 80s with chronic medical conditions.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But the virus can lead to pneumonia and even death for some people, especially older adults and those with existing health problems.
Among the hard-hit places in Missouri is Life Care Center in St. Louis, a nursing home that has reported six cases. Health officials have said that three of the people who have died of the coronavirus lived at an assisted-living center in Springfield.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which covers the western third of Missouri as well as Nebraska and five other states, released a troubling report Friday, saying that 54% of the companies surveyed expected lower levels of employment for 2020 because of COVID-19 and market volatility. The report also said that 63% of the companies were concerned about cash availability.
Stay-at-home orders are in place across much of the state, and on Friday the city of St. Louis cracked down further, closing all playgrounds. A news release from the St. Louis Department of Health said people have been gathering in large groups at playgrounds during the crisis, increasing the risk of children either contracting of spreading the coronavirus.
