Vice President Mike Pence offers additional assistance to Missouri

Vice President Mike Pence called Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to offer additional assistance and resources to fight COVID-19.

“We are grateful to both our vice president and to President Trump for their continuing support throughout this process,” Parson said during a Wednesday news conference.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) said Missouri has had 55,321 confirmed cases, up from 39,352 cases on July 24.

“So they’re basically saying we’re here, we’re going to send the CDC (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in there to help, and I encourage all the help we can get in that area to make sure we curve this as soon as we can,” said Parson.

READ: Missouri voters pass expensive Medicaid expansion

During his media briefing, Parson also expressed disappointment with the viral videos of weekend parties at the Lake of the Ozarks, without social distancing. The governor emphasized that he and other state officials have been urging residents to practice social distancing, for months. “That virus is out there, and it’s not going anywhere right now,” he said.

The governor has also announced that $7.5 million of the state’s coronavirus relief fund has been allocated to a cost-share program with local counties, to help schools cover costs for personal protective equipment and cleaning and medical supplies for school buildings and buses.

Parson easily won the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, garnering 510,000 votes, or three-fourths of all votes cast. His Democratic opponent, Nicole Galloway, earned 85 percent of the primary votes for a total of 453,000. Libertarian Rick Combs and the Green Party’s Jerome Howard Bauer are also running for governor

The gubernatorial race there is rated as “likely” Republican by “The Cook Political Report.”

–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice