By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said during a visit to Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville he’s impressed with plans both Northwest and Missouri Western State University have to reopening during the coronavirus pandemic.
Parson said he is pleased with preparations both on the Maryville and St. Joseph campuses.
“Both universities have really stepped up, preparing for this with a lot of precautionary things. Again, for me, it’s about looking at those testing numbers. It’s looking about contact tracing. Are you prepared for that? Are we prepared if you do have an incident where the virus does get on campus, which more than likely it will before this session is over, and what do you do with that? It appeared everybody had a good plan for that,” Parson said in a news conference after he spoke with university administers from both schools.
Parson said he asked administrators about what the state can do to help with funding and equipment.
Parson expects Congress to provide more help for higher education in the latest COVID-19 stimulus package.
Returning to the classroom this fall is important, according to Parson.
“I don’t think you can delay, whether it’s K-though-12 or whether universities, or community colleges, or training schools. Look, people have got to go to work. People have still got to make a living out there and we’ve got to be able to deal with the virus and education at the same time, because everybody’s going to have to deal with that,” Parson said. “If we let the education fall behind and we don’t do our part of make sure they keep doing that we’re just going to get further behind and we’re going to lose in the competition world when it comes to other states.”
During a question and answer session, Parson said he doesn’t believe it’s his place to order a statewide mask mandate. Parson said he will continue to encourage Missourians to wear masks, but won’t mandate it.
“The reason I haven’t mandated that is because every county, every city is much different in the state,” Parson stated. “There are still counties out there that don’t have five cases of the coronavirus and then you go to St. Louis, Kansas City, and other places do. You have to be prepared for that. You just have to know that. I just don’t feel like it’s my place to mandate a statewide mask order, especially when the local levels can do that.”