Business survey gave reopening advice to Missouri governor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — With Missourians under a stay-at-home order this spring as a coronavirus precaution, the Associated Industries of Missouri began surveying businesses to gauge how they were affected and gather suggestions for reopening the economy.

The results went straight to Gov. Mike Parson’s top staff, according to email records provided under the state Sunshine Law to the Associated Press. Less than a week later, the Republican governor announced that all businesses could reopen — one of the quickest restarts nationally.

The Missouri business survey is just one of many examples of how governors across the U.S. were inundated with reopening advice from a wide range of industries during a critical early juncture in the nation’s battle against the worst pandemic in a century and the resulting recession.

Many governors chose to reopen before their states met all the nationally recommended health guidelines, which include a sustained downward rate of infection and robust testing and contact tracing. Since then, confirmed COVID-19 cases have surged in most states, including Missouri.

“I think states felt a lot of pressure to reopen because of the economic pain that the communities were experiencing,” said Anita Cicero, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security.

Records provided by Parson’s office included a survey of 146 businesses conducted by Associated Industries of Missouri from April 15-20. About two-thirds of respondents said their business had significantly declined during the pandemic. The survey results also included extensive comments from business leaders.