July 21, 2020

COVID-19 testing available to state legislators during special session

Media Contact:
Lisa Cox
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
Lisa.Cox@health.mo.gov

 

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Beginning Wednesday, July 22, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) will provide free, voluntary COVID-19 testing to members of the Missouri General Assembly and all who work in the capitol building.

Last week, Gov. Parson announced a special session beginning Monday, July 27, which will bring together Senators and Representatives of the General Assembly to focus on addressing violent crime in Missouri.  

“Members of the General Assembly have expressed an interest in voluntary testing availability during the upcoming special session. After seeing the experience another state legislature had recently, we felt this was a reasonable request,” said Dr. Randall Williams, director of DHSS. “This opportunity is available because of the Governor’s testing initiative which has significantly expanded testing capacity throughout the state, in regards to both volume and accessibility.”  

Tests will be administered by DHSS. For those working in the Capitol, appointments will be available July 22-23 and July 27-28. As schedules for this session continue to be determined, testing appointments will tentatively also become available in August. 

CARES Act funding will be used to provide this testing. More information regarding COVID-19 can be found at health.mo.gov/coronavirus.


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