St. Louis County Declares Coronavirus State of Emergency

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO — St. Louis County Executive Sam Page issued an executive order on Friday declaring a state of emergency related to the outbreak of the new coronavirus, which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic earlier this week.

"In other places, community transmission of the virus has followed closely behind travel-related cases. We have no reason to believe that that's not the case here," Page said.

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A woman in her 20s tested positive for the virus after returning to St. Louis from studying abroad in Italy earlier this week, but so far no cases of community transmission have been reported in the county.

Effective at 5 p.m. Friday, organized events of more than 250 are banned countywide.

"This limit is based on opinions of public health experts, the most up-to-date guidance from the CDC and my own judgement as a medical doctor," Page said. "Smaller groups and shorter contact periods work. This is a strategy that has worked before in history and I believe it is necessary now. We hope that everyone will exercise common sense and goodwill toward our community and stay away from large gatherings."

Page called on anyone who is sick to stay home and said he has directed the Department of Human Services to find ways to help those without homes. County workers will also have access to more flexible leave policies.

"Missing work also often means taking unpaid time off and getting behind on the bills," Page said. "Today I'm recommending to the Civil Service Commission of St. Louis County that they adopt new, more flexible, temporary leave policies for county employees."

Those policies will allow employees to expend sick leave, vacation time, paid time off and comp time for COVID-19-related illnesses, Page said. Employees who have used all their leave can borrow against future accrual.

Page also encouraged public utility providers to cease service shutoffs and provide relief to customers, and he asked landlords and banks to voluntarily suspend all evictions and foreclosure procedures in the county.

Page said the executive order will give public health officials the tools they need to prevent the spread of the virus.

"This is not a decision that I took lightly," Page said. "I consulted with experts, I consulted with our regional leaders, and I prayed about it. But I believe this is the right decision."

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called SARS-Cov-2, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19, the illness caused by SARS-Cov-2, struck the U.S. on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now being spread from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

For more information, or if you develop upper respiratory symptoms, including cough or shortness of breath, or a fever over 100.4 degrees, visit stlcorona.com or call the county's coronavirus hotline at 314-615-2660.