Cape Council members urge residents to get vaccinated

Cape Girardeau Mayor Bob Fox and City Council member Dan Presson encouraged residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 during Monday night's council meeting.

"The delta variant seems to be getting pretty tenuous and tough out there, so please, encourage your family and loved ones to get vaccinated," Presson said.

There are currently no confirmed cases of the delta variant in Cape Girardeau County, but recent tests conducted by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services found traces of the variant in the city's sewage.

"I just don't want what's happening in Southwest Missouri to happen in Southeast Missouri," Presson said.

Fox said he was on a recent conference call with Gov. Mike Parson along with other area mayors. The call mostly pertained to COVID-19 and how it's affecting other parts of the state.

Right now, there are more people hospitalized from COVID-19 in Southwest Missouri than there were last winter. In Greene County, home of Springfield, 251 people are hospitalized from COVID-19, according to the county's COVID-19 dashboard. The new hospitalizations surpass last year's record of 237 hospitalizations reached Dec. 1.

"I would echo what Dan said and encourage people to get vaccinated," Fox said. "There's a large population of our county that's not vaccinated, and if that delta variant gets here, it'd spread like wildfire."

According to the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, 33.8% of county residents are fully vaccinated. The state averages at 39.8%.

Other discussion items

• The council conducted its first reading on "use tax" legislation that would impose a tax on online sales equal to the local sales tax. Nicolette Brennan, public information manager for the City of Cape Girardeau, said the bill for the tax will be read again at the council's next meeting Aug. 2.
• Fox expressed his relief the federal government did not change its definition of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The Biden administration proposed to raise the threshold for MSA populations of 50,000 to 100,000. If the raise were to take effect, Cape Girardeau would lose its MSA status and eligibility for certain grants.
• A motion carried for an ordinance accepting temporary construction easements from various property owners for the West End Boulevard Project from Rose Street to Bertling Street. Another motion carried for an ordinance accepting permanent drainage easements from various property owners for the West End Boulevard Project.