The city council in southwest Missouri’s Springfield is considering a resolution that asks Governor Mike Parson (R) to enact a statewide face mask order.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson briefs Capitol reporters on July 22, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Missouri has seen an increase of about 1,600 coronavirus cases, in the past 24 hours.

Our Springfield affiliate KSGF Radio quotes City Councilman Craig Hosmer, a former Democratic state lawmaker, as saying the order would benefit hospitals in the region.

Missourinet asked Parson about the Springfield City Council, during Wednesday’s media briefing at the Capitol in Jefferson City.

“I am not anti-mask and I’ll say that clearly again. I wear a mask from time-to-time when I feel that need is there. I am not anti-mask, what I am is anti-mandates,” Parson says.

Councilman Hosmer was first elected to the Missouri House in 1990. He served 12 years as a state representative, before leaving the Legislature in 2002. Hosmer is also a former chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party.

“I don’t think it’s the state’s place to mandate for everybody in the state of Missouri to wear a mask,” says Parson.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Director Dr. Randall Williams also opposes a statewide mask order, telling Capitol reporters that there are 85 counties with one COVID-19 death or less.

“That’s very different than the experience unfortunately they’ve had in St. Louis County, where they’ve had more than half of our deaths,” Dr. Williams says.

He says there are about 50 counties that have had less with 30 cases.

KSGF reports Greene County saw 32 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

Dr. Williams also says COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state are trending up. DHSS announced on Thursday that Missouri now has had 37,700 confirmed cases, an increase of about 1,600 since Wednesday. That’s also up by four 4,000 from Monday.

Dr. Williams is urging young people who congregate in places like pools and lakes to wear a mask and to wash their hands frequently.

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