But the rise of the highly infectious delta variant, which has spent the last month wreaking havoc in southwest Missouri, has prompted a return to executive action — and council resistance.
“The delta variant has thrown us a curveball,” Page said at a press conference Monday. “It’s highly transmissible, and it’s now jeopardizing our progress.”
Both Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, who renewed the city’s mask mandate Monday, said the new orders would allow time for more people to get vaccinated. Less than half of Missourians have been vaccinated so far, a rate that lags well behind the national average.
But as soon as they finished their press conference, Councilman Tim Fitch took the podium to denounce Page for failing to consult with the County Council on the order, which Fitch said is now required under state law.
“Based on what I know now, the law hasn’t been followed,” Fitch said in a later interview, “so if I had to vote right now I would definitely vote to terminate.”
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Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, D-4th District, said she’d reached the same conclusion in a statement Monday in which she blasted Page for “bypassing” the council.
“This governing style has caused St Louis County to be mired in controversy and political drama over and over again,” she said. “This needs to stop.”
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Originally Appeared Here