ST. LOUIS — The City of St. Louis will remain under a stay-at-home order beyond May 4, which is Missouri’s reopening date.
St. Louis city has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, behind St. Louis County.
In a press release, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson said May 4 is too soon to reopen the city.
“It’s just not safe right now to begin to reopen the City of St. Louis,” said Krewson. “We need to see at least 14 days of sustained decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases before we can consider reopening.
By moving that process too quickly, we could put our family members and neighbors at risk for contracting the virus. I understand many of you wish to return to work and your normal lives, but we must remain vigilant to continue to slow the spread.”
Dr. Fredrick Echols, director of health for the City of St. Louis, said the city is working toward identifying gaps where additional testing services can be provided.
“As we expand these measures, we can locate hot spot areas and increase the focus of prevention efforts to slow the spread and hopefully reopen the City in the coming weeks,” Dr. Echols said.
The city’s stay-at-home order will remain in effect until Dr. Echols determines the threat of increased spread of COVID-19 has diminished, according to the press release. The city did not give a specific date for when the stay-at-home order would be lifted.
Only essential businesses will remain open during this time.
As of April 29, there have been 1,126 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the city, including a total of 60 deaths.
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