EDITOR:
It is incomprehensible that the Platte County Commissioners have not forwarded any of the CARES Act funds to our health department. Missouri has been on the watch list for record-breaking new coronavirus cases and recently our state had the second highest rate of new positive cases in the country.
The health department is our epicenter for addressing this pandemic. No other agency or government body is taking responsibility for keeping Platte County safe and healthy—not the county and not the federal government.
Our health department no longer has access to free lab testing from KU Medical Center as of Aug. 15. Contact tracing is another critical intervention in slowing the spread of this virus. There is no money for that program either.
Some Platte County businesses have suffered from the impact of reduced customer support. It’s going to get worse for them when the county has to shut down or customer fear and illness keeps them at home anyway.
To really strengthen the economy of Platte County, give people the confidence to shop and do business here safely because our health department is testing and tracing to lower our coronavirus incidence. In that way, every citizen benefits from these funds, not just some Platte County businesses.
Our county needs the leadership, recommendations and interventions of our health department. The Platte County commissioners must support this frontline mission by funding our public health experts who stood up to take the lead in this leadership vacuum.
–LeAnn Karbaumer
Platte City