Democrats want Parson to apologize for virus comments

(AP) The Missouri Democratic Party is urging Republican Gov. Mike Parson to apologize for refusing to take any blame for a sharp increase in coronavirus cases since he lifted restrictions on June 16.

Parson said Tuesday that a governor can’t take personal responsibility for any virus and he compared the disease that has killed almost 1,000 people in his state to the flu. He said no one would expect him to take responsibility if someone was involved in an accident on a Missouri road.

Missouri Democratic Party spokesperson Kevin Donohoe says Parson’s comments show a “stunning lack of compassion.”

Parson instead attributed the rise in confirmed cases to increased testing, not a resurgence of the virus. “We are not overwhelmed,” Parson said during a news conference Tuesday. “We are not currently experiencing a second wave, and we have no intentions of closing Missouri back down at this point in time.”