ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — St. Louis County Executive Sam Page reiterated his support for protests following the death of George Floyd during one of his three weekly briefings on Wednesday.
Page is asking anyone who participated in a protest to quarantine for two weeks if they were not able to wear a mask or practice social distancing. He said the unrest could result in a bump of COVID-19 numbers.
"Let’s stand together and condemn this violence and provide support to our law enforcement officers to help us get these criminals off the street," Page said discussing small groups of agitators.
"‘Justice for all’ – this is a glaring imperfection in our country and these three words are not yet fully realized," he said on Monday. "As these demonstrations play out they do so as we respond to a pandemic that affects many of our families, and a disproportionate number of them are African American. It’s another example of inequity....
“We are a country that is scared, we are a country that is angry, we are a country that is holding out for the promise of justice for all. And when it is abundantly clear that those promises have been broken, then we will see marchers in our street.”
On Tuesday, Page chose not to issue a countywide curfew. The City of St. Louis is currently under a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice. Page urged residents to go home as early as possible and stay home Tuesday night.
Brentwood, which is in St. Louis County, instated a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. until further notice. Several businesses in Brentwood were damaged by a small group of agitators over the weekend.
COVID-19 TESTING
Testing has been one of Page's top priorities since the coronavirus pandemic began. On Wednesday, Page announced that the county is now testing more than 1,000 people daily.
As of June 3, there are 5,127 confirmed cases in the county and 446 people have died due to complications from the virus. More than 2,000 people have been released from isolation.
FUNDING
Page also announced $24 million in funding for the humanitarian response program that will focus on three main areas including senior and home bound programming, housing stabilization and social and emotional wellness.
Director of Policy Cora Faith also joined Page at the briefing to announce a child care relief program.
REOPENING ST. LOUIS COUNTY
On Monday, Page announced bars can reopen on June 8 and all other businesses can reopen on June 15. Guidelines for reopening are expected to be released soon on stlcorona.com.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Page will hold briefings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 a.m. each week.
