Butler County leaders review state stay-at-home order, name health officers

Friday, April 3, 2020

Butler County officials started going through Gov. Mike Parson’s “Stay Home Missouri” Order as soon as it was released Friday afternoon and took the first step of appointing two health officers for the county.

Dr. Matthew Riffle and Emily Goodin, administrator of the Butler County Health Department, will “work with local, state and federal partners in planning actions going forward to support the health, safety and well being of Butler County residents,” county officials said in a statement. All members of the Poplar Bluff City Council, all three county commissioners and the mayors of Fisk, Neelyville and Qulin signed a letter stating their support of Riffle and Goodin.

Parson announced the order hours after health officials updated the number of COVID-19 cases in the state had reached 2,113. Five days ago it stood at just over 1,000. The virus has now claimed 19 lives.

Starting at 12:01 a.m. Monday and continuing through April 24, the order issued by the state health director allows residents to leave their homes for groceries and other essential needs as long as they stay six feet apart. It also puts limits on the number of customers allowed in essential business.

Read the full text of the order here.

“It’s going to take us some of this weekend to digest some of that,” said Robbie Myers, Butler County Emergency Management Agency director. “As we do, we’ll communicate that.”

Said Poplar Bluff City Manager Mark Massingham, “I just encourage the citizens to obey the order from the governor and stay home unless they absolutely have to get out.”

The order does not keep schools from providing food and nutritional services to the community and “guidance related to the conclusion of the 2019-20 academic school year will be forthcoming” from the governor and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Residents can go to and from a “place of worship, provided that limitations on social gatherings and social distancing are properly adhered to” the order states.

Essential workers in the order are defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. “Entities that do not employ individuals to perform essential worker functions may request a waiver” the order states.

Any essential business “shall limit the number of individuals in any particular retail location” the order states, depending on the size of the location.

All residents “shall avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people” the order states, and every person and business “shall abide by social distancing requirements, including maintaining six feet of space between individuals.”

Restaurants may still provide drive-thru, pickup or delivery options.

“This Order does not prohibit people from accessing essential services, such as grocery stores, gas stations and banks, or engaging in outdoor recreation, provided that necessary precautions are taken and maintained to reduce the transmission of COIVD-19,” Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services writes.

The order will be enforced by all local and state health authorities, which can also make further rules, regulations or orders, Williams writes.

“Our local leaders will work with Gov. Parson’s administration to implement the measures as they come down,” Myers said.

In their roles defined by state law, Riffle and Goodin will have the authority to order protective measures such as individual self-isolation when warranted.

“On behalf of the Butler County Health Department Board of Trustees, I am confident that our administrator, Emily Goodin, will make thoughtful, informed and effective decisions in leading our community in the upcoming weeks,” said health department board Chair Mary Ann Allen in a statement.

“We are grateful to the county commission for their support in appointing her as County Health Officer. We express our appreciation to the county commission for appointing Dr. Matthew Riffle to also serve in that same role during these challenging times to provide medical guidance to our community leadership.”

Myers said COVID-19 is no longer a big city problem with area cases on the rise.

“If we don’t have compliance, if people continue to not adhere to these, we might have more restrictive measures in the next order,” Myers said. “One way we can keep that from happening is adhere to this one the best we can.”

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