CLAYTON, Mo. – St. Louis County Executive Sam Page says he doesn’t think the county is ready to lift its stay-at-home order, he said it is not too early to talk about what that will look like.

Page says tomorrow, he will announce plans to reopen county parks. He said closing them was necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19, however, opening them with restrictions is something officials believe is now the right thing to do.

Page didn’t give an exact date on when parks would reopen, but did say it would be before mid-May. He said he believes that it can be done safely if people adjust their behavior in the park, follow instructions that will be provided by the county, and prevent crowding. Page said a crowded park will lead to a closed park.

Page said he is expecting Missouri Governor Mike Parson to release more information about relaxing the statewide stay-at-home order.

Page said, “I don’t believe St. Louis County is ready to relax our order. St. Louis County is much different than the rest of the state. We have almost 40% of the diagnosis of COVID-19 of the whole state of Missouri.”

Page also said there will be a need to continue social distancing until a vaccine is available, something we know will not be ready for awhile.

Last week, Sam Page outlined what the testing protocol will need to look like before businesses are able to reopen. You can read more on those protocols with the rest of our coronavirus coverage.