JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday declared “the COVID-19 crisis is over,” announcing that the state will soon begin handling the coronavirus like influenza and other ongoing diseases that occasionally flare up.
Parson said the state will officially start treating the coronavirus as an endemic on Friday. One result is that the public will receive less frequent updates about the number of deaths, hospitalizations and cases attributed to COVID-19.
“The COVID-19 crisis is over in the state of Missouri, and we are moving on,” the Republican governor said at a Capitol news conference, a little over two years since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020.
A disease generally is considered to have reached an endemic phase when the virus still exists in a community but becomes manageable as immunity builds.
California in February became the first state to announce a shift to an endemic approach. Some other states also have switched their approach to the virus.
Parson said COVID-19 transmissions in Missouri are at the lowest levels since March 2020 and hospitalizations have decreased by 86% since a mid-January peak. He said most Missourians likely have some protection against the virus either through prior infections or vaccinations.
“The virus is here to stay,” Parson said. “But Missourians have learned to live with COVID while living their normal lives.”
The changed approach means Missouri won't conduct universal contract tracing and individual case investigations, and response strategies will be based on regional and community trends. The state's COVID-19 website no longer will provide daily updates on vaccinations, testing and positivity rates and won't show detailed county-level case data.
Other changes from the move are included in the slide below from the state.
Acting state Health Director Paula Nickelson said data about COVID-19 cases will instead be updated weekly. She said the less intensive data reporting will allow public health employees to refocus on other tasks.
Nickelson preemptively rejected any suggestions that the state is moving too quickly to the endemic approach. She said Missouri can still “ramp back up and be flexible” when COVID-19 cases or hospitalizations rise. But she stressed that the state would not impose mandates to wear masks or get vaccinated.
Here is the full booklet from the state on the changing COVID response in Missouri.
5 On Your Side has received statements from St. Louis area health leaders about Gov. Parson's announcement Wednesday.
St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force
"We have collectively sacrificed and worked hard to get to this place in the pandemic. We continue to urge vigilance and vaccination. COVID will continue to be with us, but we are in a much better place now. Let us use this time now to continue vaccinations and rebuild our public health and healthcare infrastructure that gave so much over the past two years."
St. Louis County Department of Public Health
"Regardless of what we call it, the pandemic has exacted an enormous toll, causing thousands of deaths and leaving many more individuals with lasting symptoms. Although case numbers are currently low, COVID-19 is still active in our community and across the country, and it is not going away. We must learn to live with COVID-19 – and that means changing our behavior based on the lessons we learned during the pandemic.
"The truth is, we cannot afford to return to a pre-pandemic “normal.” That is what allowed the virus to wreak so much damage. Instead, we must use the tools that we know help keep us safe. Vaccinations and boosters are proven to be safe and incredibly effective at preventing severe illness and death. Protocols such as wearing masks in crowded public places reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Keeping sick people at home and getting them tested are smart strategies that help prevent outbreaks in businesses, schools and other institutions.
"Moving forward, DPH will continue to: monitor the spread of COVID-19; communicate to the public about the status of the disease and the tools available to fight it; provide vaccines and boosters with an emphasis on equity; offer convenient public testing; and remain poised to enact public health measures if conditions deteriorate to ensure public safety. Precautions should be ramped up or down based on case numbers."