Joplin health officials to monitor cases, testing, hospital stats in preparation for step two of reopening

Joplin Health Department Director Dan Pekarek outlined the information his department will evaluate as it prepares to advise city officials on moving to the next phase of reopening the city during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a briefing this morning at City Hall, Pekarek said, "We're looking at case rates not only from Joplin, but the counties around us." He noted that Joplin's number of coronavirus cases has remained at 10 and Jasper County's at 19, while the numbers have increased over the past few days to 16 in Newton County and 14 in McDonald County.

In addition to those statistics, the Health Department will monitor testing availability, ability to do contract tracing and data from the hospitals.








During his portion of the briefing, Mayor Gary Shaw thanked for Joplin residents who are wearing masks, social distancing and following guidelines as the city is in week three of step one of the recovery and encouraged those who are not wearing masks to do so.

"We're not going to have to do this the rest of our lives."

(Note: The beginning of the video is sideways, but it is straightened out shortly afterward.)