Though no confirmed person-to-person cases of coronavirus have been found in the St. Louis area, Page said he and county public health officials believe "community transmission is here, it's just not recognized because some people have mild symptoms and it's also unrecognized because this is a new disease and we do not have a robust testing environment for it."

The two St. Louis County casinos – Hollywood in Maryland Heights and River City in Lemay, both operated by Penn National Gaming – were canceling concerts and events after the announcement of the ban Friday, but had no plans to close gaming floors.

“We don’t believe that affects the gaming floors per se,” said Missouri Gaming Association Executive Director Mike Winter. “It would be more events, concerts, those types of things.”

He said he doesn’t believe any casinos in the state currently have plans to close their floors.

St. Louis County spokesman Doug Moore said the county intended very few exceptions to the ban.

"It’s a blanket ban no matter what happening inside the casino," Moore said in an email. Moore added; "Businesses must use common sense here to ensure the health of their customers and employees."