Moniteau County Commission extends stay-at-home order through May 10
CALIFORNIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Moniteau County Commission approved a recommendation from the county health center on Thursday to adopt and extend a stay-at-home order through May 10.
Moniteau County Health Center spokesman Darrel Hendrickson said the order will be extended by one week as other areas of the state reopen.
Before Thursday, the county hadn't put a stay-at-home order or emergency declaration in place. Hendrickson said the county had previously gone with the state COVID-19 guidelines. He added the county adopted guidelines on social distancing and essential business from the state order.
County officials felt reopening on May 4 could be too soon.
"We're trying to see a two-week period of declining cases, or no new cases," Hendrickson said.
The CDC advised local governments to push back reopening until they see a two-week reduction in new COVID-19 cases. Gov. Mike Parson's reopening Missouri guidelines say the first phase of recovery could begin on May 4 but that situations are adaptable.
Hendrickson said there wasn't enough information to feel comfortable with reopening in four days.
"We didn't feel we had sufficient data to go ahead with the first phase of reopening," Hendrickson said.
As of Thursday, Moniteau County had 29 active cases of COVID-19 and hadn't confirmed a new case since Saturday.
The county saw an explosion of novel coronavirus cases over the past few weeks after workers at area meat processing plants contracted the virus.
Burgers' Smokehouse in California halted operations on April 22 after 21 employees tested positive for COVID-19. The facility restarted work on Thursday with enhanced wellness checks and social distancing measures in place.
St. Louis County officials extended their stay-at-home order through mid-May. Cole County and Chariton County are among the Mid-Missouri counties that have already waived their coronavirus orders.
