St. Louis County Executive Sam Page says he expects the regional stay at home order to be extended until May.

St. Louis County Executive Sam Page (Photo courtesy of Jill Enders)

Page made that announcement Wednesday morning during the second of his three briefings this week on the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he has been in discussions with other regional leaders about the matter.

“I would expect those discussions that the stay at home order will extend into May, but I’m not prepared to give you a specific date. We know before we can ease stay at home restrictions, we need a robust testing environment.” Page said.

Page also stressed that lifting restrictions too soon could result in a rebound in cases. He said an official announcement could come later this week.

Page is also asking the County Council to approve $7 million from the health fund to be used to buy more coronavirus tests. He claims testing is needed in order to re-open the economy.

It was also announced that the St. Louis County Health Department is contracting with local hotels to house homeless people and first responders infected with the virus.

As of Wednesday, St. Louis County has over 1,800 confirmed cases, including 58 deaths. Page said north St. Louis County is the hardest hit area of the county.

By Missourinet contributor Jill Enders