COVID-19 Briefly — Schools, food distribution, church update

No new cases reported Friday

Cape Girardeau health care officials reported no new COVID-19 cases Friday.

Six Cape Girardeau County cases have been confirmed. Saint Francis Medical Center reported 4 positive tests, 44 negative tests and a total of 182 tests performed. Southeast Hospital reported one positive test, 25 negative tests and a total of 58 tests performed. Other Cape Girardeau County providers reported a total of three positive cases.

Six confirmed cases have been reported in Perry County, with one each in Scott and Bollinger counties.

The state is reporting 670 cases and nine deaths from the virus.

Schools extend closures

Cape Girardeau, Jackson R-2 and Notre Dame Regional High School have extended school closures as a result of Covid-19.

The Cape Girardeau Public School District sent a letter on Friday to notify parents that schools would remained closed through April 13 with a targeted return of April 14.

"We will reevaluate next week to see what the situation is in our community before making any future decisions," according to the letter shared with local media.

The district will continue providing curbside meal pickup from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday at the five elementary schools. Meals are for children age 18 and under.

Food distribution planned in Cape

Premier Physical Therapy is partnering with Southeast Missouri Food Bank for a food distribution.

The event will be from 2;30 to 4 p.m. Thursday at Premier Physical Therapy, 1405 North Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau.

Staff will direct traffic and load the food into vehicles.

For more information, call (573) 722-9999.

Catholic churches closed

The Springfield-Cape Girardeau Catholic Diocese has directed all church facilities to be closed and locked until further notice.

Bishop Edward Rice ordered the actions to prevent coronavirus spread.

St. Mary Cathedral closed at 6 p.m. Friday. Confessions will be heard on the school parking lot from 3:15 ro 4:15 p.m. Saturday.

Disaster declaration approved

Jefferson City, Mo. -- President Donald Trump on Thursday approved Gov. Mike Parson's request for a federal major disaster declaration for the state of Missouri.

The President approved Governor Parson's request the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Public Assistance Program be utilized to reimburse eligible expenditures made by local governments, nonprofit organizations, and the state for emergency protective measures by first responders and others responding to the coronavirus.

"I appreciate the President acting quickly on my disaster declaration request and the commitment of federal resources as we battle this unprecedented public health and economic threat to Missourians," Parson said. "As I've said throughout our COVID-19 response effort, we will continue to pursue every way possible to adapt and deliver additional resources to help protect the health of Missourians and promote long-term recovery."

On March 13, Parson declared a state of emergency in Missouri and activated the State Emergency Operations Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 21, he directed Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Dr. Randall Williams to order social distancing statewide. Dr. Williams limited social gatherings in Missouri to no more than 10 people; directed Missourians to avoid eating or drinking in restaurants, bars, or food courts; and ordered that schools remain closed.

Last week, Governor Parson's request for low-interest federal disaster loans for Missouri small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19 was approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration.