‘We have no other options but to follow the orders of the Missouri Attorney General;’ some counties stop COVID-19 efforts

LACLEDE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Several county health departments in rural parts of Missouri say they will cease some or all work relating to COVID-19.

The Laclede County Health Department made the announcement via Facebook Thursday, citing Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt's recent letter to local public health agencies in the Show-Me State.

Schmitt sent letters Tuesday to schools districts and local public health departments saying there will be "enforcement action" against any agency that continues to enforce mask mandates, quarantine orders or other public health orders.

"While this is a huge concern for our agency, we have no other options but to follow the orders of the Missouri Attorney General at this time," the Laclede County Health Department said in its post.

The agency says it will not be doing any work related to the virus, including case investigations, contact tracing, quarantine orders, public announcements of current cases or deaths, and more.

"While our agency remains determined to protect the health of our county residents, it should be understood that this ruling greatly affects how we will be able to proceed with ALL highly communicable diseases in the future," the post read.

Southeast Missouri's Stoddard County said the same thing, including that it will not report new cases or deaths. Other Bootheel counties -- Pemiscot, New Madrid, Scott and Dunklin -- posted the same message.

The changes are happening as cases continue to surge statewide and vaccination rates lag, particularly in rural areas. In Pemiscot County, only 31.8% of people have gotten at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the state health department. New Madrid, Scott and Laclede counties are all in the top 25 among Missouri counties for coronavirus cases per capita since the pandemic started.