State economy recovering, but 'still not numbers we like'

Few roles in Missouri government are more challenging these days than those in the state's Department of Economic Development as thousands of businesses in the Show Me State deal with the impact of COVID-19 ... and prepare for whatever economic reality the pandemic leaves in its wake.

And Shad Burner, former vice president of economic development with the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, is in the middle of it.

Now the Southeast regional manager with the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Shad was in Jackson on Thursday to talk about the state's Show Me Strong Recovery plan with several dozen members of the Cape chamber at Montgomery Bank's training center.

"Obviously, this has been the hardest hit, from an economic standpoint, that we've seen in our lifetimes, certainly from an unemployment standpoint and a loss of business revenue standpoint," Shad told me before his presentation.

Thousands of Missouri businesses closed, at least temporarily, in March and April, resulting in layoffs and furloughs of Missourians across the state and an unemployment rate of 10.2% in April. That number dropped slightly last month, to 10.1% as the state rolled out its economic recovery plan in May following a monthlong "stay-at-home" directive ordered by Gov. Mike Parson.

At just over 10%, Missouri's jobless rate is several percentage points lower than the nation's, which was reported at 13.3% last month. In Cape Girardeau County, the May unemployment rate, reported last week, was 8.9%.

"What we've seen is that Missouri, and Cape and Southeast Missouri in particular, has outpaced some of the rest of the country," Shad said, "but those are still not numbers we like by any stretch of the imagination."

Now in its second phase, Missouri's economic recovery campaign is gradually allowing more and more Missouri businesses to reopen while still encouraging people to keep following coronavirus prevention recommendations such as social distancing, frequent hand-washing and the use of face masks to help control spread of the virus.

"We very much see this recovery as a hand-in-hand approach of health care and economics," Shad said, adding he and his colleagues in the Department of Economic Development's Regional Engagement Division are ever mindful of the state's coronavirus case data.

"We are constantly aware of what's happening on the health care side, and likewise we share what we're seeing on the business and industry side," he said.

In recent weeks, there have been several coronavirus "hot spots" in Missouri, including some in Southwest Missouri near the state's boarder with Northwest Arkansas. Testing, Shad said, helps identify potential outbreaks before they have a chance to spread.

"We have consistently said the availability of testing is critical to economic recovery," he told me. "If we can't test and if we can't have communitywide testing when there are instances of an outbreak, then we can't open up the way we would want."

(As of last week, approximately 390,000 Missourians, about 6.5% of the state's population, had been tested for COVID-19 since the outbreak began. Only seven states -- Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania -- have conducted fewer tests per capita than Missouri. There have been more than 20,000 reported coronavirus cases in the state and just over 1,000 deaths attributed to the virus.)

Missouri has received billions in federal funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which is being used in a variety of ways to support the state's economic recovery efforts. Cape Girardeau County has received $9.2 million of CARES funds for expenses related to COVID-19.

"We have one and a half billion at the state level right now that we're working on, determining how to best allocate those funds to support economic recovery," Shad said. "I believe, very soon, we will start seeing the fruits of some of those efforts in grants and different things."

As for a timeline for when Missouri's economy will fully recover, Shad said it's hard to say because the situation remains fluid and unpredictable.

"It's very much changing on a day-to-day basis," he said.

One thing that's certain, Shad said, is the coronavirus will leave a lasting mark on the economy and the way business is conducted well into the future.

"I hate the term 'new normal,' but I don't think it's going to go back to where it was," he said. "But it's also been an opportunity for businesses to rethink a lot of things such as working remotely and to do other things they wouldn't have done otherwise."

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One business directly impacted by COVID-19 last week was Wings Etc. in Jackson where a cook reportedly tested positive for the virus.

In a social media post Thursday, franchise owner Joe Hobbs said the restaurant closed immediately that day upon learning of the infection so the entire business could be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized.

"This is, so far, an isolated incident that was contracted outside our location," Joe said in his Facebook post, adding that his staff follows coronavirus safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, such as use of face masks and social distancing. He said employees are also screened for COVID-19 symptoms before each shift, including digital temperature checks.

"As of this writing, not a single employee has registered an above-normal temperature during any pre-shift check-in," Joe reported. "If a team member exhibits any COVID-19 symptom, they will not be permitted to enter the work areas of the building and will be advised to report to a medical facility for testing and treatment."

The restaurant reopened Friday after a "hospital quality" cleaning by a Servpro crew that morning.

"We will, as we have been doing all along, follow the CDC and Cape County health department recommendations," Joe said.

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Although the network contract between Saint Francis Healthcare System and UnitedHealthcare expired March 5, Saint Francis participating providers remained in the United network beyond that date. However, barring a last-minute contract agreement, their network participation will end this week.

As of now, Saint Francis-affiliated physicians will be "out of network" starting Wednesday.

I recently asked Saint Francis about the status of any negotiations with UnitedHealthcare and was told a week ago there were "no new updates regarding UnitedHealthcare."

One of the region's largest employers, Southeast Missouri State University, notified its faculty and staff last week that while they may qualify for "continuity of care" coverage, it may be necessary for them to find alternate providers or be prepared to pay "out of network" provider charges if they continued to use Saint Francis physicians.

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