KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said that “recent data” shows the state’s number of novel coronavirus cases is starting to stabilize and that the state has been able to “flatten the curve.”
Dr. Robin Trotman, of Cox Health in Springfield, said he is “enthusiastic” about how the public has understood the consequences of shelter-at-home ordinances.
“We have literally bent this curve, we have flattened this curve,” Trotman, a member of the state’s coronavirus task force said.
He said that interventions like stay-at-home orders have reduced the number of cases in Missouri and “afforded health care systems time to get prepared.”
Trotman also said that the state has ICU beds and ventilator capacity, as well as ways to re-process personal protective equipment.
In a daily press conference, he also said that beginning next week, Missouri will deploy a decontamination system that will assist with the N95 mask shortage.
The system will be able to decontaminate up to 80,000 masks per day, according to Parson.
“This will be a huge benefit to our overall recovery plan,” Parson said.
The system, from Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System, is the result of two decades of research and has received FDA approval, according to Todd Richardson, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
Richardson said that the system uses hydrogen peroxide vapor to sanitize the masks. It is funded through Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grants.
Richardson also said that Missouri has partnered with Microsoft to provide a platform to screen Missourians for COVID-19 symptoms. The platform, according to Parson, will be free to the state for the next six months.
Additionally, Trotman said that people will have to resume “standard medical care.”
“People need to feel safe re-entering the health care system,” he said.
However, Trotman said that as the health care system starts to normalize, there will be bumps in the road.
“We may even have to resume some minor restrictions in movement as we release some… This is going to be a long haul,” Trotman said.
