West Plains COVID Ordinance Extended to June 15

Ordinance 4659 was approved on May 1, 2020 to provide guidance to help safeguard employees and the public following the expiration of the Stay at Home Order.

The Mayor has signed an extension to continue it, which went into effect at 12:01 am Monday, June 1, 2020, and will continue through 11:59 pm June 15, 2020, which “allows all businesses to operate within the City of West Plains with proper safeguards.” Those safeguards include:

*Mandatory six-foot social distancing for all businesses.

*Employees for restaurants, bars, and retail food establishments are required to wear protective masks or work behind a protective barrier.

*Seating at food/dining establishments will be limited to 10-related individuals per table, and a six-foot separation between tables.

*Bars and restaurants will remove bar stools and bar seating to prevent large-group gatherings.

*Self-serve dining, such as food bars, buffets and salad bars, will be allowed if the food is distributed from a dedicated service or if there is a means of ensuring customers are no less than six feet apart at self-serve stations.

*Employees for close contact, personal service businesses such as tattoo parlors, massage therapy, barbershops, and hairdressers are required to wear protective masks, with lobbies or waiting rooms limited to no more than three individuals.

*Thorough sanitation must be done between customers, and hand-sanitizing stations available for employees and customers.

The City of West Plains is essentially following Governor Mike Parson and the state’s “Show Me Strong Recovery Plan”, which allows all businesses and services to re-open with social distancing restrictions. The Ordinance also strongly encourages residents to stay at their place of residence unless performing essential activities for their household and follow social distancing requirements even outdoors.

The complete Order can be read in its entirety at westplains.net under the red “Coronavirus City Updates.”