WASHINGTON, Mo. — In the past six months, the coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on the small community of Washington, Missouri.
"The cases have been on the rise and in conjunction with that our hospitalizations are also on the rise. The numbers are disturbing. I don't like to see the numbers. I know that I have become more cautious," said Mayor Sandy Lucy.
Mayor Lucy said as of September 13, 24 people in Franklin County have died from the coronavirus.
She said on Wednesday there were 14 COVID-19 patients at Mercy Hospital. Three were on ventilators, the hospital's intensive care unit is practically full.
"The ICU is currently at 94 percent. Of course, not all of those people are COVID patients," said Mayor Lucy.
Mercy officials call it a "danger zone" and that's why they want the city to implement stricter measures in hopes of slowing the spread of the deadly virus.
In a letter sent to the mayor and city council, the hospital is asking for a face mask mandate, hand sanitizer stations at public building entrances and gloves for restaurant workers.
Last month a city-wide mask mandate measure in Washington failed by a vote of five to four.
"It won't be long that the flu season's going to be kicking in potentially and you want to be able to manage these hospitalizations. I understand the concern of the hospital completely. We are trying to figure out what metric to use. Do you used the positivity rate? Do you use the daily case rate? Do you use the ICU rates? We're also talking among ourselves and city council members about the fact that maybe we should limit the number of times we rent out our facilities," added Mayor Lucy.
Mayor Lucy tells 5 On Your Side all of the hospital's COVID-19 related concerns and much more will be addressed at Monday's city council meeting.
In the meantime, Lucy is asking all of her citizens to continue doing everything they can to help keep their community safe from COVID-19.
"I would just encourage, plea, ask people to wash your hands you know. Social distance," Mayor Lucy said.
"Even if it's just putting on a mask when you go to a larger store, if you can't social distance, you should put on a mask," said Washington resident Rebeca Clinkinbeard.
