Lebanon-area health department stops 'all' activity to fight COVID after Missouri attorney general letter

Gregory J. Holman, Springfield News-Leader
·4 min read

The taxpayer-funded public health agency serving the Lebanon area's 35,000 residents announced on Thursday morning that in order to comply with a letter by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sent earlier this week to Missouri's local public health agencies, Laclede County would stop providing "all COVID-19 related work at the current time."

That means no more contact tracing, case investigations, quarantine orders, public announcements of data related to COVID-19 cases and deaths, along with the end of other measures, the Laclede County Health Department said.

The department said it was awaiting guidance from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, "but we have no timeline or expectations that this ruling will be changed."

Laclede County health officials also said, "While our agency remains determined to protect the health of our county residents, it should be understood that this ruling greatly affects how we will be able to proceed with ALL highly communicable diseases in the future."

On Dec. 9, 2021, the health department for the Lebanon, Mo. area stopped "all" activities to limit the spread of COVID-19, including contact tracing and data announcements on cases and deaths, following a letter sent by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.
On Dec. 9, 2021, the health department for the Lebanon, Mo. area stopped "all" activities to limit the spread of COVID-19, including contact tracing and data announcements on cases and deaths, following a letter sent by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

More: First presumed omicron variant COVID-19 case found in Missouri; Delta remains prominent strain

Missouri judge's order affects local health departments, schools

The letter follows a Nov. 23 decision by Cole County Judge Daniel Green that struck down Missouri local health officials' power to impose public health orders such as quarantines and public masking mandates. Judge Green wrote that the local health authorities' existing orders were "null and void" because they ran afoul of the authority held by legislative bodies elected by voters.

Laclede County Health Department director Charla Baker was not immediately available for an interview Thursday morning, but a representative of the health department answering the telephone said the department has a small staff and that other rural health departments may take similar measures to comply with Schmitt's letter.

Schmitt sent a similar letter to Missouri public school districts this week ordering them to cease mask mandates and "any such orders immediately," citing Judge Green's ruling.

As the News-Leader reported Thursday, Springfield school authorities rejected Schmitt's order and said masking among students would continue to be mandated until January, to give the youngest students an opportunity to vaccinate. FDA recently gave emergency approval for kids ages 5 to 11 to get the Pfizer vaccine.

More: Springfield officials anticipating COVID-19 uptick with cold weather, flu season underway

Schmitt's office declined to make Schmitt available for a News-Leader interview or directly respond to written questions but offered a statement Thursday afternoon:

"As we state in our letter ... the Cole County Circuit Court order requires local public health authorities and school districts to stop enforcing any mask mandates, quarantine orders, or any other public health orders that are null and void under the judgment. We’re grateful that the Laclede County Health Department has ceased their COVID-19 public health orders like their quarantine order. Any further decisions beyond ceasing quarantine orders or similar public health orders should be directed to them."

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, speaks to reporters in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, Monday, Sept. 9, 2019.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, speaks to reporters in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, Monday, Sept. 9, 2019.

Schmitt, others vie for U.S. Senate seat held by Blunt

Schmitt is running in a crowded Republican primary to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, with several rivals including former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Harrisonville) and U.S. Rep. Billy Long (R-Springfield), all of them seeking endorsement by former President Donald Trump.

Schmitt is currently neck-and-neck leading the race with Greitens, according to a recent Missouri Scout poll reported by Politico, with 19 percent of likely Republican primary voters undecided.

Laclede County vaccination, case rates

Laclede County's population is just 34.8 percent fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the USA TODAY Network data tracker. Only 39.8 percent of residents have initiated vaccination.

The county has had 149 residents die due to coronavirus over the course of the pandemic, according to the tracker, with more than 5,600 cases to date. Sixteen have died in the past week, according to the CDC.

The CDC considers the county an area of high COVID-19 transmission, like Missouri in general. Laclede's COVID test positivity rate is more than 9 percent, a "red zone" figure, with a high case rate of 243.54 per 100,000 people.

Reach News-Leader reporter Gregory Holman by emailing gholman@gannett.com. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Rural Missouri health department stops 'all' activity to fight COVID