COVID-19 RESPONSE
As of Monday May 18th, the Health Commissioner’s Order Number 8 goes into effect which provides Phase 1 reopening guidelines for some businesses.
These guidelines are still intended to ensure that the maximum number of people and businesses take prudent precautions to reduce the exposure to, and slow the spread of, COVID-19. While these are guidelines for reopening, they do not mandate that a business has to reopen or that, for example, a restaurant has to start serving patrons inside rather than through curbside pick up.
The reopening standards and guidelines were also released to provide guidance to individuals and specific businesses on relaxing of stay at home orders. These orders for individuals include:
General Guidelines for Businesses Include:
Specific Guidance for Industries Can be found below:
If there is an employer that is non-essential and is posing a threat to public health by requiring employees to come into work, that employer can be reported to the Citizen Service Bureau.
Social distancing is deliberately increasing the physical space between people to avoid spreading illness. Staying at least six feet away from other people lessens your chances of catching COVID-19. Social distancing helps us to flatten the curve to slow the rate of COVID-19 infection so hospitals have room, supplies and doctors for all of the patients who need care.
Other examples of social distancing that allow you to avoid larger crowds or crowded spaces are:
◾️ Review all of the orders issued by the City of St. Louis with regard to COVID-19, here.
◾️Essential St. Louis city services will remain in effect (police, fire, trash…) but many City Hall departments will operate with skeleton crews and allow employees to work remotely.
◾️To alleviate public congestion in local license offices, the Department of Revenue has implemented automatic extensions for expiring driver licenses and motor vehicle registrations. These extensions are effective immediately. See Governor Parson’s Press Release with the update here. In response to this order by the Governor, Collector of Revenue Greg Daly’s License Office in City Hall will be closed. This will cut down on the number of people in City Hall each day.
◾️In alignment with the federal government, the Collective of Revenue is pushing back earnings tax filing to July 15th. The State of Missouri also just pushed back its tax filing date to July 15th.
◾️ SLMPD has been instructed per CDC guidelines to not break up homeless encampments to aid in the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. The City is also in progress in getting a number of new homeless beds online. We hope to have them operational in the coming days.
◾️Metropolitan Sewer District is waiving all late fees on bills through June 30, 2020.
◾️The City now has digital billboards running at 40 and Jefferson and Kingshighway and 44 with Public Service Announcements (PSAs) related to COVID-19.
◾️The Treasurer’s office will not be writing parking tickets, parking meters will be free, and all penalties will be frozen until Stay-At-Home orders are lifted.
◾️The excise department is extending all liquor license renewals as the pandemic continues. If you are a business who wants to renew your license on-time, you still can. Businesses will still have to pay the fees when they renew their licenses, but there will be no penalties for a late renewal. Licensees will be allowed to continue to operate until they can renew, up to 60 days, at which time we hope all businesses will be able to open again.
◾️ A Comprehensive Resource Guide for services in the St. Louis Region, and Metro East is continually being updated with new resources as they become available.
◾️Have you been laid off or furloughed as a result of COVID-19? The criteria for qualifying for unemployment has been expanded and can be found at: https://labor.mo.gov/coronavirus.
In addition, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program was created as part of the CARES Act of 2020. It is implement by the Missouri State Department of Labor and is designed to help gig workers, independent contractors, and self-employed people who would not otherwise be eligible for Unemployment. THE PUA program allows for up to 39 weeks of benefits to those who are unemployed, partially unemployed, or those who are unable to work due to certain COVID-19 related reasons.
◾️St. Louis Quarantine Support is a group of volunteers in St. Louis City who are delivering groceries and other necessities so that individuals at highest risk from coronavirus (COVID-19) and those currently experiencing symptoms may remain quarantined. They are committed to aiding those who are currently sick and those who are preemptively quarantining, especially those who are immunocompromised, those who are 65 or older, and caretakers of these groups. If you need assistance, you can fill out this form. If you would like to volunteer, you can fill out this form.
◾️ Utility companies including Ameren, Spire, and the Water Department have a moratorium on shut offs.
◾️The latest updated list of restaurants in St. Louis doing pick-up and delivery. https://www.curbsidestl.com
◾️The self-response phase of the Census, where folks can respond via phone, mail, or online, has been extended until August 14th. With that said, that does not mean that you need to delay in filling out the census. Currently, only a little over 20% of St. Louis Residents have filled out the Census. You can fill out the Census online at 2020Census.gov. It only takes about 5 minutes.
◾️There is a moratorium on visits to those who are currently incarcerated in our two city jails, with the exception of legal council.
◾️All jury trials have been postponed until June 1st while Stay-At-Home orders are in place until May 17th, and possibly longer. If you have been called for jury duty during that time, you do not need to report for jury duty.
◾️The 22nd Judicial Court in the State of Missouri has halted evictions until April 19th, 2020. We are currently awaiting guidance on extending these orders.
◾️Sheltering in place can be difficult for anyone, and some of our neighbors might not be safe due to violence at home. If you or someone you know needs help, please visit Safe Connections or call 314-531-2003. You can also contact ALIVE at 314-993-2777
◾️ The 24 hour mental health line continues to operate. Call 314-469-6644 or visit online.
◾️As of Friday March 27th, all playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, pickelball courts in the City of St. Louis are closed.
◾️City Parks currently remain open. While the weather will be getting nicer, and there is a tendency to want to be outside in our parks, please keep a few things in mind. Social distancing, keeping at least 6 feet between you and other people, is required even when outside. Please refrain from playing contact sports like basketball and soccer that can spread COVID-19.
◾️Please talk to your children and teens about adhering to social distancing, even if you are not around. In order to adhere by social distancing, it’s important to not play contact sports and adhere educate children about social distancing when walking around or in stores without parents present. COVID-19 can impact any person, of any age, and we need to keep our kids safe.
◾️Recreation Centers are closed to recreation activities.
◾️ St. Louis Public Schools in partnership with the City of St. Louis Government and area charter schools, Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) and its food services vendor Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE) will provide free grab-and-go meals at school sites throughout the city while the District is closed. Sites are continually being added across the City. For more information and an interactive map visit www.slps.org/meals.
◾️Public transit will remain open. Bus service is free and riders are asked to enter from the back of the bus and social distancing will be practiced on public transit.
◾️St. Louis Regional Chamber continues to update their website with resources for small businesses as they become available.
◾️Explore St. Louis has collaborated with many stakeholders and community leaders on the “STL Take it Home initiative.” They are encouraging folks to support our local restaurants through the STL Take It Home page on www.explorestlouis.com that provides links to restaurants that are offering curbside and delivery service.
◾️Missouri was approved for the US Small Business Disaster Fund. The application is now online.
◾️The City received an additional shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) for first responders from the State, including N95 masks, gowns, gloves, and face shields.
◾️If you are experiencing symptoms, contact your medical provider. They will refer you to a testing facility. If you do not have a medical provider, call the COVID-19 Hotline in the St. Louis City Health Department: 314-657-1499. Do not go to an emergency room without contacting the emergency room first.
If you have yet to receive your stimulus check from the IRS, it is possible that the IRS does not have your bank account information on file to complete a direct deposit. You may go online to the IRS website and update your information to have your check directly deposited into your account, and to check the status of your stimulus check. If you’re relying on a paper check, you may have to wait a while longer as the IRS processes checks.