St. Louis City employees required to wear masks

ST. LOUIS — The city of St. Louis has issued new masking guidance for its employees, less than a day after implementing guidance saying employees were required to wear masks on the job. 

In a letter to employees Friday afternoon, the Department of Health says employees are “strongly encouraged, but not required” to wear a mask indoors. It is also recommended they wear face coverings while in city vehicles with more than one person.

It’s the same message city health officials issued to all residents Thursday citing the rise in respiratory viruses in the region.

Friday’s letter says with the activity of winter viruses rising at such a rapid pace, the city must take action to slow transmission and prevent strain on the hospital system.

Influenza cases in St. Louis City increased 455% between Nov. 25 and Dec. 23, where individuals aged 24-49 years had the highest number of infections, followed by children aged 5-14, according to the Department of Health.

Influenza activity also is increasing in St. Louis County. The estimated influenza activity for St. Louis County and the state of Missouri is moderate, according to the St. Louis County Department of Health.

Positive respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) tests grew by 34% with 400 positive tests between Nov. 25 and Dec. 23 in the city of St. Louis. 

A total of 270 people in the St. Louis region were hospitalized with COVID-19 during the week of Dec. 23, according to the Department of Health, which is a 26% increase over the previous week and a 38% increase from the month prior.

This puts St. Louis region in the CDC’s Medium Community Level risk category.

As of Dec. 1, 11% of St. Louis City residents have received the most up-to-date COVD-19 vaccine.

“We strongly recommend that all residents wear a face mask inside and in situations when social distancing isn’t possible,” said Dr. Matifadza Hlatswayo Davis, director of Health for the City of St. Louis.

“This recommendation doesn’t come lightly. It is data driven and focused on lowering community transmission of potentially deadly diseases. If we all do our part and voluntarily mask up, we can expect the number of cases and hospitalizations to decrease over the coming weeks.”