Missouri is ending its COVID-19 emergency designation and will transition to an endemic phase of the pandemic. During a press conference on Wednesday, state Governor Mike Parson (R) said that Missouri will begin treating the virus as an endemic starting on Friday.

Parson asserted Missouri has learned a lot over the past two years, but noted the virus shows no sign of completely going away. He explained that this means there’s no need to continue living life in “crisis mode.”