by SARAH THOMACK
St. Joseph Post
Following the State of Missouri's lead, the City Council has agreed to fully reopen St. Joseph businesses on Tuesday.
St. Joseph Mayor Bill McMurray says Missouri Western Professor Dr. Gary Clapp reported to the council that in the past few weeks, there has been a downward trajectory in the daily rise of COVID-19 cases.
“We have some metrics to back this up," McMurray says. "We just have to keep those good numbers going and that will enable us to keep these restrictions away for a much longer period of time.”
McMurray says he’s encouraged to hear hospitalizations at Mosaic Life Care went down on Friday and the community testing last week of almost 300 people resulted in just two new positive cases in Buchanan County. He adds that just because restrictions and guidelines are being lifted Tuesday, doesn’t mean the virus is completely gone.
“I hope that a lot of people will take precautions because... by loosening the restrictions and asking for personal responsibility, the last thing we want to do is have a spike in cases and have to go back and batten down the hatches again,” McMurray says. “Let’s work together, we’re all in this together so let’s try to show personal responsibility and keep this virus at bay.”
The city council plans to continue holding work sessions on Thursdays to get updates on COVID-19 cases in the area as businesses reopen.