State will ‘probably’ help fund COVID overflow site

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says the state will “probably” provide funding for a site to help handle the overflow of COVID-19 patients in Springfield, where hospitals are struggling to keep up with a surge driven by the delta variant and vaccination hesitation.

But the Republican governor suggested Thursday that federal stimulus money also could pay part of the cost of the “alternative care site” health leaders in the southwestern Missouri city have requested.

In an interview with the Springfield News-Leader, Parson also suggested that federal stimulus money provided to Springfield and Greene County could help fund the site.