Missouri judge: Local health orders tied to COVID-19 are illegal

(AP) A Missouri judge has ruled that local health orders imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state are illegal and should be lifted. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled that orders such as quarantines and business closures violate the Missouri Constitution’s separation of powers clause affecting the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The lawsuit was filed in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when St. Louis city, St. Louis County and other jurisdictions were issuing health mandates aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus.