Governor and First Lady Return to Work

After testing positive for COVID-19 on September 23, Governor Mike Parson and First Lady Teresa Parson have both fully recovered and returned to their regular schedules.

“Teresa and I are so grateful that we are two of well over 100,000 Missourians that have recovered from this virus,” Governor Parson said. “We are glad to be back and want to again thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We are humbled every day to be surrounded by such great people across the state.”

We are glad to be back and want to again thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers - Governor Mike Parson

Consistent with state policy and transparency of sharing statistics regarding COVID-19 and state employees, the Governor’s Office is releasing the number of staffers who have tested positive for the virus.

Only four staff people have tested positive since the beginning of Missouri’s fight with COVID-19. This includes Governor’s Office staff, Governor’s Mansion staff, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol Governor Security Division.

All staff meeting the definition of close contact were tested following the Governor and First Lady’s positive test results. The four staffers who tested positive have fully recovered. The remainder of staff identified as close contacts tested negative and followed proper quarantine protocol consistent with CDC guidelines. The Governor’s Office continued all normal businesses operations and duties during this time.

At this time, Governor Parson does not plan to be retested for COVID-19. According to the CDC, evidence in most cases supports a symptom-based (rather than test-based) strategy to determine when to discontinue home isolation. Those who test positive for COVID-19 are to stay in isolation until 24 hours after fever is gone without using medicine, other symptoms have improved, and 10 days after symptoms began. If asymptomatic, the test date is used in place of symptom onset date.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story