City, county amend stay-at-home order

Last edited 12:12 p.m., April 7, 2020

The city of Springfield and Greene County yesterday announced an amendment to the local stay-at-home order that matches a stricter policy in Gov. Mike Parson's recent edict.

The expanded city-county order puts restrictions on occupancy for essential retailers. Specifically, occupancy must be kept to 25% if the retail location is less than 10,000 square feet and 10% if it's more than 10,000 square feet, according to a news release.

“We ask that our citizens and businesses continue to stay the course and follow the city’s stay-at-home order, remembering that it is in place to protect the further spread of COVID-19. Limiting that spread helps us mitigate the damage this disease has on our community and especially the impact on our health care resources, which are finite,” said Clay Goddard, director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, in the release.

Parson announced the occupancy requirements in his April 3 stay-at-home edict. City spokeswoman Cora Scott previously told Springfield Business Journal the state order does not supersede the local edict. Both the city-county and state orders last through April 24.

During a virtual news conference announcing the expanded order yesterday, Greene County Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon echoed Goddard's calls for residents to stay at home as much as possible.

"Our grandparents went overseas to sacrifice their lives for our freedom. We're just being asked to sit on a couch," he said. "We can't mess this up."

The Health Department also announced yesterday that three retail sites in Springfield had potential exposure by a COVID-19 patient.

One of the recent positive cases visited the Walgreens at 2640 E. Sunshine St. around 7:30 p.m. March 29. The individual went to Target around 5:45 p.m. March 30 and to the Phillips 66 gas station near Sunshine Street and Glenstone Avenue at 10:30 a.m. April 1, according to a news release.

Health Department officials said residents who have visited the three locations are at low risk for COVID-19 but should monitor for symptoms.