March 27, 2020 – 9:31 a.m.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Missouri Department of Public Safety, Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, and MO HealthNet Division Welcome Enhanced Collaboration with Missouri National Guard

(JEFFERSON CITY, MO) – Governor Mike Parson has signed Executive Order 20-06 to begin mobilizing the Missouri National Guard to assist in the state’s COVID-19 response efforts. This will increase the amount of coordination among state government partners in combating the spread of COVID-19.

“The COVID-19 crisis is constantly developing and changing, but we are taking steps each and every day to slow the spread and protect public health and safety,” Governor Parson said. “Mobilizing the National Guard will help us provide more immediate resources to our citizens and enhance Missouri’s ability to overcome this global pandemic.”

Governor Parson made the decision to mobilize the Guard after conferring with his state emergency management team, including officials from the Missouri Department of Public Safety, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and the State Emergency Management Agency. 

Missouri’s healthcare system is receiving extensive real time or near real time information and guiding data-driven priorities and decisions. Engagement with stakeholders like the Guard will help define priorities and coordinate from the planning stage to implementation.

Adjutant General Cumpton said the Guard is providing specialized health and safety training to all personnel that are being mobilized in addition to guidance that all soldiers, airmen, and civilians have already received from the Department of Defense and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The National Guard is ready and poised to assist local and state civilian authorities in response to COVID-19,” Brigadier General Levon Cumpton said. “The Guard has flexibility in utilizing resources and deploying them around the state where they are most appropriate.”

On March 13, Governor Parson declared a state of emergency in Missouri and directed the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan to be activated. Several measures have already been taken to respond to the increased health threat posed by COVID-19, including the signing of Executive Order 20-04 to ease regulatory burdens that interfere with Missouri’s response efforts.

To view Executive Order 20-06 click on the pdf >>> EO 20-06 MONG.pdf or read below:

EXECUTIVE ORDER 20-06 WHEREAS, I have been advised by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the State Emergency Management Agency that there have been confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the State of Missouri; COVID-19 can result in mild or severe symptoms, is highly contagious, and is spread through close contact between persons and respiratory transmission; COVID-19 poses a serious health risk for Missouri residents and visitors; WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention activated its Emergency Operations Center to better provide ongoing support to the COVID-19 response on January 21, 2020; WHEREAS, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to COVID-19 on January 31, 2020; WHEREAS, the first case of COVID-19 in the State of Missouri was identified on March 7, 2020; WHEREAS, the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic due to COVID-19 on March 11, 2020; WHEREAS, the spread of COVID-19 and identification of additional cases in Missouri is likely to continue, and steps are being taken to prevent a substantial risk to public health and safety; WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, Executive Order 20-02 declared that a State of Emergency exists in the State of Missouri and directed the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan be activated; WHEREAS, additional resources of the State of Missouri are needed to prevent the risk of COVID-19 and to respond to a declared emergency and the increased health threat to the population; WHEREAS, the National Guard is ready and poised to assist local and state civilian authorities in response to COVID-19 which has caused conditions of distress and hazards to public health and safety beyond the capacities of local and State agencies; NOW, THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL L. PARSON, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the Laws of the State of Missouri, including Section 41.480.2, RSMo, order and direct the Adjutant General of the State of Missouri, or his designee, to forthwith call and order into active service such portions of the organized militia as he deems necessary to aid the executive officials of Missouri, to protect life and property, and it is further ordered and directed that the Adjutant General or his designee, and through him, the commanding officer of any unit or other organization of such organized militia so called into active service take such action and employ such equipment as may be necessary in support of civilian authorities, and provide such assistance as may be authorized and directed by the Governor of this State. This order shall terminate on May 15, 2020, unless extended in whole or in part. ATTEST: IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Missouri, in the City of Jefferson, on this 26th day of March, 2020.