Missouri health officials are urging residents to take “aggressive action” after nearly a week that daily COVID-19 cases have reached four figures.
On Sunday, the state had its sixth consecutive day of more than 1,000 new cases, with 1,218. A four-day streak of record numbers of new cases peaked at 1,652 on Friday.
There are 41,927 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Missouri and 1,197 deaths, according to the state health department. The seven-day moving average of the positive tests is 8.8%.
“We are trending,” Dr. Randall Williams, director of the state department of health, said Wednesday in a briefing on coronavirus from Missouri Governor Mike Parson. The more than 1,000 numbers probably represent community transmission, primarily between people in their 20s and 30s, Williams said.
According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the average age of COVID-19 contractors has steadily decreased. As of Sunday, the average age of a COVID-19 patient in the state is 43 years; the seven-day moving average is 40.
Daily hospitalization data on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard has not been updated since July 12, although Williams said those numbers are also “on trend.” The delay in reporting is due to a change in the way data is collected, after the White House switched CDC’s data collection to a private company earlier this month. As a result, the Missouri Hospital Association said it has been left “in the dark” and cannot access state data.
Williams said she hopes to have updated hospitalization figures this week.
A call to ‘mask’
Missouri began reopening its economy on May 4, and the governor allowed the state to reopen completely starting June 16. There is no state mask mandate, although several local jurisdictions, including St. Louis County and Kansas City, Missouri, have issued their own orders. as COVID-19 cases have started to increase in recent weeks.
The Missouri Hospital Association is also among a coalition of eight state organizations that urge residents to “mask” themselves amid the surge, noting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations to use fabric covers in public to help limit the spread of COVID- 19)
“The Missouri stay-at-home order helped reduce transmission of the virus. However, with the opening of many regions of the state, Missouri transmission rates have increased,” the association said in a statement. “Missouri residents can protect themselves, their families and community members by wearing a mask when they are in public and in contact with people at risk.”
In a grim letter to the public released Friday, several health officials in the Kansas City region, including two in Missouri, urged residents to take steps to limit the spread of the disease due to recent data that suggests they are “losing the battle with COVID. ” -19 “, said the letter.
“We are extremely concerned that hospitalizations will continue to increase in the coming weeks and months, and that the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 will lead to increased ventilator use and death,” said the letter, which emphasized the use of masks. indoors and when it was social. distancing is not possible. “This is our best option at this time to protect our friends, families, neighbors and the economy.”
An often-cited example of the value of mask use occurred right in Missouri: After two symptomatic hairdressers potentially exposed 140 clients to COVID-19 in May, the county health department determined that no new cases were associated with the salon. from Springfield. Both stylists and all clients were wearing face shields at the time, authorities said.
Missouri COVID-19 Epicenter
The most affected county in Missouri is the most populous: St. Louis. As of Sunday, the county had about a quarter of the state’s COVID-19 cases, with 10,995, according to state data. During the first two weeks of July, the average number of new cases of COVID-19 more than doubled, according to a report by the St. Louis County Health Department on July 23. Hospitalizations increased by 73% during that period, he found. The overall test positivity rate has gradually increased since mid-June, according to the report.
With a record number of new cases in recent days, county officials have warned that they are considering re-imposing restrictions. In a coronavirus briefing on Friday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said the county would start “talking about restrictions” when daily hospital admissions hit 40. That number has been hovering in recent years. days. On Sunday, the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported new daily hospitalizations at age 36, up from 40 on Thursday. The seven-day moving average of new hospitalizations was 40 on Sunday, continuing an upward trend in the county.
“We are in a difficult place right now, and we need to take some aggressive action as a community to change the curve,” task force chief Dr. Alex Garza said Friday in a coronavirus briefing. “We have a lot of transmission in our community. It is still being driven by our younger population.”
Last week, the county announced it would pause summer league youth competitions, such as games and practice games, due to the increase in cases among children ages 10 to 19.
“While the risk of transmission during competitive youth sports games is likely low, all activities surrounding the games increase the likelihood of spreading the virus. This includes teams, coaches, and parents meeting before, during, and after games and practices, sharing the trip and other activities associated with participating in sports teams, especially if there are no adequate mitigation practices, “said the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, Task Force COVID-19 of Sports Medicine of St. Louis and the City of St. Louis a joint statement released Thursday. The guidelines only apply to summer sports, authorities said.
Garza emphasized “decisive actions,” such as wearing masks, distancing himself socially, and not congregating in large groups, to help narrow the curve and keep hospital admissions low in the region.
At a confluence of COVID-19 concerns, a recent outbreak in the state has been linked to a large youth gathering. The Jackson County Health Department said Friday that it had traced five cases of the virus to a July 10 high school party attended by between 100 and 200 students.
The department recommends that everyone who attended be tested for the virus. According to current county guidelines, meetings are limited to 100 people.
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