After a week at the yellow level, the county is back in orange status on the Jefferson County Health Department’s COVID-19 warning system, which is the second highest level on the four-color system, the agency reported today (March 24).
The Health Department previously reported that the county was in the yellow level for two weeks, Feb. 28 to March 13. However, the Health Department now says the county was in the orange level from March 7 to March 13 based on the number of new cases that week. Health Department officials said delayed lab reports and a switch to the EpiTrax reporting system led to some cases not being reported in time for the status to be updated until now.
The orange status indicates widespread but controlled transmission of the coronavirus.
Several factors are evaluated when determining the color level, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and White House Pandemic Task Force guidelines. However, the main indicator is the seven-day rolling average number of cases per day per 100,000 people.
The rolling average number of cases for the week of March 14 to March 20 was 12.32. That is up from the previous week, when the seven-day rolling average was 10.10 per day per 100,000 people in the county, which has a population of about 225,000.
If the county has 10 to 24 new COVID-19 cases per day per 100,000 people, it is in the orange level. If it has 25 or more cases per day per 100,000 people it would be in the red, or highest, level.
Health Department officials said the county is not alone in seeing new coronavirus cases starting to climb again.
“The CDC update call this week reported that cases across the U.S. have increased around 2 percent over the course of the last seven days,” the Health Department reported. “This has become a bit worrisome as it is basically a race against the clock to get vaccine in arms as the variants continues to spread.”
The B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant also has health officials worried, according to the Health Department.
“It is suspected that the B.1.1.7 variant represents about 40 percent of the cases in the U.S. and will likely become the dominant variant in the next few weeks. Although Missouri is only reporting five cases of B.1.1.7, there are likely many more cases circulating undetected because of the lack of genomic sequencing. Now seems to be that crucial time where it is important to maintain our current restrictions instead of relaxing them as many states have done. Keeping the mask mandate in place for a bit longer and promoting any other prevention measures will hopefully help to prevent another surge while we are racing to vaccinate the community,” the Health Department reported.
COVID-19 stats
The Health Department also announced two additional COVID-19-related deaths this week – a man in his 80s and a man in his 90s.
Those deaths brings the county’s total number of deaths from the virus to 231 since the pandemic began.
The county has had a total of 21,828 COVID-19 cases since the first ones were reported in March 2020.
Of those, 1,337 cases have been connected to long-term care facilities.
Health officials urge people to continue taking steps to limit the spread of the virus, such as avoiding crowds, wearing masks, practicing social distancing and frequent hand-washing and staying home when you are sick. They also recommend getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Vaccines
The Health Department expects on April 1 to hold the first COVID-19 vaccination clinic in the building it recently leased at 1275 N. Truman Blvd. in Festus, which previously housed a Schnucks store and before that a Shop ‘n Save store.
Vollmar said the goal is to vaccinate 1,400 people at the April 1 clinic.
She said the Health Department plans to hold clinics in the 60,000-square-foot building four days a week.
The Health Department has already provided a total of 7,347 COVID-19 vaccine doses at clinics around the county, it reported in a written statement.
Appointments are required to receive the vaccinations.
Anyone who wants to get the vaccine through the Health Department must first sign up for it by completing an interest survey at jeffcohealth.org. Then, the Health Department will contact those people to make an appointment when they’re eligible and a vaccine is available for them. People without internet access may call the Health Department registration line at 636-789-8941.
Comtrea, which also offers health care services around the county, has upcoming vaccine clinics, too, including one on March 30. Nathanael Herbert, Comtrea’s marketing communications manager, said 400 vaccines will be provided at that clinic.
He said starting in April, Comtrea will offer 400 second doses every Wednesday in Festus and Arnold, with 200 second doses given at each location.
Comtrea also gives all vaccines by appointment only and will contact people who have registered for the vaccine and who are eligible to receive it under the state’s distribution plan to set up the appointments.
To register with Comtrea, visit comtrea.org/vaccine-inquiry.
Only those who are included in Phase 1A, Phase 1B Tier 1, Phase 1B Tier 2 and IB Tier 3 of the state’s vaccine distribution plan may receive the vaccines. However, the Health Department said it is still focusing on vaccinating those from the earliest three phases.
For more information about the state’s vaccine plan, go to covidvaccine.mo.gov.
Mercy also has created an online sign-up method to help distribute vaccines to those eligible under the state’s vaccination plan. To sign up with Mercy, go to mercy.net/MOVaccine.
Other hospital systems and pharmacies also are registering people for the vaccines.
To find a local vaccine site, visit vaccinefinder.org.
