ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Tighter COVID-19 restrictions will begin in St. Louis County on Nov. 17, a source confirmed to 5 On Your Side's Casey Nolen Thursday evening.
This comes as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the St. Louis area.
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page made the formal announcement Friday morning. Read 5 On Your Side's latest coverage here for the full update on the changes.
People will only be able to leave their homes to go to work, school, seek medical care, exercise or shop for goods and supplies, the source told 5 On Your Side's Casey Nolen. Page will also implement a rule on "social bubbles" where people can form with 10 or less family members or friends and keep interactions to that group.
Bars and restaurants will be forced to close their dining rooms, but patios can remain open. They will be allowed to offer curbside service.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story said outdoor dining would be restricted, a source clarified this information and said outdoor dining will be allowed.
Businesses including gyms and grocery stores will be reduced to 25% capacity of their occupancy limits.
Gatherings will also be reduced again to 10 people.
The restrictions will be in place for four weeks and will then be reevaluated.
“I am deeply concerned that not everyone is taking personal responsibility in following public health orders,” said Dr. Page in an email on Thursday. “Our hospitals are filling up, our health workers are overwhelmed and exhausted and we continue to break records daily in the number of new cases and in the number of patients our hospitals are tending to. Everybody needs to be all-in if we are going to get control of this virus.”
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force also announced on Thursday it'll hold a briefing at 10:30 a.m. It usually holds briefings Friday afternoon.
Dr. Alex Garza, incident commander for the task force, will be joined by physician leaders from the task force's regional health care systems and physicians and health care workers from across the state of Missouri.
On Thursday, the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported more record-breaking hospital statistics, with the seven-day moving average of hospital admissions at 101, which is the first time that metric has surpassed 100.
Tim Fitch R-3rd District filed bills on Thursday that would provide oversight of St. Louis County Public Health and State of Emergency orders issued by the county executive.