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The header image is the default header image for the site.MOCEP Encourages Governor Parson to Implement Statewide Mask Mandate
POSTED: November 18th, 2020
POSTED IN: Forum Topic, MOCEP, News,
The Missouri College of Emergency Physicians (MOCEP) has sent a letter to Missouri Governor Michael Parson asking him to implement a statewide mask mandate. Efforts by the Governor’s office to implement a statewide stay home order in the spring were successful in preventing Missouri hospitals from being overwhelmed, which was the fear of many in the healthcare industry at that time.
This fear has now become the reality in Missouri, and at the current pace of the pandemic, it does not appear that we will be able to avoid this scenario again. Emergency physicians are on the front line of much of this and are fighting a battle that gets harder each day. Rural areas that are already experiencing severe hospital bed shortages within their area will soon not be able to transfer patients to larger urban centers as they become filled.
“As physicians working clinically, we routinely wear masks for 8 to 12 straight hours to keep everyone safe in the hospital,” said MOCEP President Christopher Sampson, MD. “We physicians definitely know firsthand that masks work to significantly limit spread of COVID. We live it personally each day on the front line and depend on it to keep us, our colleagues, our patients, and our family safe.”
On behalf of emergency physicians across our state, we urge Governor Parson to implement a statewide mask mandate. We also ask the citizens of Missouri to wear a mask in public as the spread of COVID can be slowed by masking up, social distancing, and staying home when you are sick. You can make a difference in slowing the spread of the virus in your community and state, and help keep your loved ones safe.
The Missouri College of Emergency Physicians (MOCEP) is a not for profit organization created to support and advocate for Emergency Medicine Physicians practicing in the state of Missouri as well as for their patients. MOCEP is a state chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).
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