June 29, 2020

St. Louis County Department of Public Health COVID-19 Update

Personal Protective Measures, Mask Up

As communities and businesses are opening, many people are looking for ways to resume some daily activities as safely as possible. Wearing a mask protects yourself and others around you and it has never been more important. It is critical that people continue to wear masks. While there is no way to ensure zero risk of infection, it is important to understand potential risks and how to adopt different types of prevention measures to protect yourself and to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. In general, the more closely you interact with others and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread. Here are a few things to consider:

• How many people will you interact with?
  • Interacting with more people raises your risk.
  • Being in a group with people who aren’t social distancing or wearing cloth face coverings increases your risk.
  • Engaging with new people (e.g., those who don’t live with you) also raises your risk.
  • Some people have the virus and don’t have any symptoms, and it is not yet known how often people without symptoms can transmit the virus to others.

• Can you keep 6 feet of space between you and others? Will you be outdoors or indoors?
  • The closer you are to other people who may be infected, the greater your risk of getting sick.
  • Keeping distance from other people is especially important for people who have an increased risk for severe illness. 
  • Indoor spaces are more risky than outdoor spaces where it might be harder to keep people apart and there’s less ventilation.

• What’s the length of time that you will be interacting with people?
  • Spending more time with people who may be infected increases your risk of becoming infected.
  • Spending more time with people increases their risk of becoming infected if there is any chance that you may already be infected.

Additional information on personal protective measures can be found here.

Reissue Public Health Order 

Capacity limitations increased today from 25% to 50% of fire or building code occupancy with the new public health order and updated guidelines. The guidelines can be found here.

Contact Information

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services hotline: (877) 435-8411. St. Louis County COVID-19 website stlcorona.com.