Following the lead of Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, members of the Warren County Commission said this week that remaining restrictions related to COVID-19 are lifted effective June 16.

Until this week, a statewide health order required some businesses, such as retailers, to limit their occupancy and enforce social distancing. Parson said on June 11 that the state is lifting those restrictions, but that local governments could choose to leave their own health measures in place.

“We, as a county, are following our governor’s guidelines,” said Presiding Warren County Commissioner Joe Gildehaus. “As of (June 16), it’s back to business.”

The county’s identified cases of COVID-19 were at 36 as of June 17, with 32 of those patients recovered and zero deaths, according to the Warren County Health Department.

Commissioners said they’re still strongly recommending basic health practices that people have adopted to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But for now, commissioners said they’re leaving that responsibility in the hands of individuals.

“The governor, and us as well, we’re putting the responsibility of being safe on the individual and the businesses. We all have to be using common sense,” said Northern District Commissioner Dan Hampson.

Commissioners said they believe local businesses have been taking appropriate precautions to keep their customers healthy.

As more testing becomes available for COVID-19, commissioners said they expect the local case count to rise with more patients being identified. Only in the situation of a substantial spike in those cases will the county consider new restrictions, Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said.

“As Missouri opens back up, we need to remember that COVID-19 is still out there,” said Ruth Walters, administrator of the Warren County Health Department. “We must not let our guard down. We need to continue to protect ourselves and others. It is going to take everyone to do their part by continuing the prevention actions we have been recommending throughout this pandemic, especially those individuals who live with, care for, or are at higher risk themselves.”

Anyone with questions can call the health department at 636-456-7474. Follow the Warren County Health Department on Facebook for future updates.

According to Parson, the decision to fully remove restrictions is based on four “essential pillars”: expanded COVID-19 testing capacity, expanded reserves of personal protective equipment (PPE), health care system capacity, and the ability to predict potential outbreaks.

Parson said weekly testing in Missouri more than tripled between April and May, and that statewide hospitalizations fell 43 percent between the start of May and June.

“We have learned and accomplished so much since March. Knowing what we know now, we are much better prepared to deal with COVID-19 going forward, and we are fully confident that Missouri is ready to take the next step,” Parson said.

However, the governor said a state of emergency will remain in effect through the end of this year, in order to continue using federal CARES Act funding.

That funding was distributed to county governments in May to assist with COVID-19 response and prevention. The Warren County Commission said an advisory committee is currently reviewing requests to reimburse local first responder and health agencies for their COVID-related expenses.

Agencies have said their expenses include additional PPE, cleaning supplies and unexpected salary costs.