Today (Nov. 6), the Jefferson County Health Department reported 200 new COVID-19 cases – the highest number of cases reported in a single day since the pandemic began.
Before today, the highest number of cases reported in one day was 199, on Oct. 30.
As of midnight Thursday (Nov. 5), the county had a total of 7,318 COVID-19 cases since the first ones were reported in March.
“The seven-day average new cases per day topped out at 142.86 with a county test positivity rate of 23 percent on November 5,” the Health Department reported today in a written statement.
“We are experiencing levels of community transmission and resulting new cases that have not been experienced previously in the pandemic for our county,” Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said in the report. “This is particularly concerning right as we start the holiday season where thousands of residents are expected to travel and spend time with vulnerable loved ones.”
The danger of gathering with others over the holidays was illustrated in “three separate clusters of cases identified this week tied to three separate Halloween,” the Health Department reported. “One gathering has already been tied to 10 separate positive tests in different family units.
“Informal social gatherings, like Halloween parties, are ideal transmission sites for the virus because people let their guard down. They usually don’t social distance or wear a mask because they are with people they know and presume to be safe exposures.”
The Health Department continues to “strongly encourage” preventive measures to stem the spread of the virus, including avoiding crowds, physical distancing, wearing masks, frequently washing hands and staying home if you are sick.
“Protective measures continue to demonstrate effectiveness in the face of widespread, uncontrolled community transmission,” Vollmar said. “St. Louis city and St. Louis County are experiencing test positivity rates of 11.4 percent and 10.4 percent respectively with community mask mandates and additional restrictions in place. The surrounding counties of Jefferson, Franklin and St. Charles (non-restriction counties) all have twice the positivity rates of St. Louis city and County at 23 percent, 21.6 percent and 20.6 percent respectively.”
Vollmar said the number of cases in the county has overtaxed the Health Department.
“The capacity of the public health system has been exceeded, and the hospital systems are getting closer to capacity each day,” she said. “The public health and health care systems have been trying to warn the community for weeks that this day would come. The virus is real. The weight now rests on residents taking personal responsibility for slowing the spread of the virus. Only through mass adoption of individual protective measures will we see a change in the trajectory of the growth of cases through the end of the year.”
The Health Department recently awarded a contract for up to $1.63 million to a company called Maximus Federal Service Inc. to help with case investigation and contact tracing.
“JCHD case investigators can currently complete an average of 40 cases per day depending on the circumstances of the cases. The significant increase in cases has created a substantial backlog of cases left for investigation,” the Health Department reported. “The Maximus contract will add 30 case investigators to work seven days a week, which will increase capacity to complete approximately 125 investigations per day. Those contracted investigators will begin phasing in starting November 18 and will be fully implemented by the Thanksgiving holiday.
“JCHD resources have had to be prioritized to meet the state-ordered mandates to complete case investigation for school age youth, cases associated with a school exposure, individuals 65+ years old, and cases associated with a long-term care facility. Cases that do not fall into these mandated groups are not currently able to be investigated before the individual’s isolation period ends.”
“It is imperative anyone who receives a positive COVID-19 test result self-isolate and notify individuals who may be contacts so they can quarantine per CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, even if they are not directly contacted by the Health Department,” Vollmar said.
Guidance for CDC isolation and quarantine may be found at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/isolation.html and cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/quarantine.html.
The Health Department offers rapid COVID-19 testing at its Arnold office, 1818 Lonedell Road. Residents may register for that testing on the Health Department website, jeffcohealth.org
“The demand for testing is another area that is exceeding resource capacity,” the Health Department reported. “The testing team received over 100 requests for tests in the last 24 hours. The team can only complete 20 tests per day with current resources. Other testing sites are available within the county and can be found on the Health Department website.
County COVID-19 stats
The county also has had 90 COVID-19-related deaths since the pandemic began.
In addition, the county currently has 1,621 active cases, which includes lab-confirmed cases and probable cases.
Of the 7,318 cases in the county, 6,743 are lab confirmed and 575 are probable cases. A case is considered probable when a person has been exposed to a positive case and is exhibiting symptoms, the Health Department reported.
A total of 1,413 people is quarantined, which means a person has a confirmed exposure to the virus and is in the process of completing a 14-day quarantine period.
A total of 5,585 people has been released from isolation, according to the Health Department.
Of the county’s total coronavirus cases, 738 have been at long-term care facilities, which includes residents and staff members who live in Jefferson County.
Of the county’s 90 deaths from the disease, 54 have been at long-term care facilities.
The county has had at least 20 COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities, according to the Health Department.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) defines an outbreak as one or more residents testing positive for the virus or one or more staff members who have worked within a facility in the 14 days before testing positive.
Color status
On Monday (Nov. 3), the Health Department moved the county back into the red status on its COVID-19 warning system – the highest level on the four-color system.
The red level indicates widespread and uncontrolled transmission.
Several factors are evaluated when determining the status, 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 of cases per day/per 100,000 residents.
If the county, which has a population of about 225,000 people, has a rolling average of 25 or more cases per day per 100,000 residents, it is moved to the red level.
State, U.S. stats
Missouri has had 200,507 positive cases of the coronavirus and 3,131 deaths related to the disease, the DHSS reported today.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the U.S. has had 9,463,782 cases, and a total of 233,129 coronavirus-related deaths, as of Thursday.
Anyone who shows coronavirus symptoms or who has questions should call the Missouri State Hotline at 877-435-8411 or the Mercy Clinical Support Line at 314-251-0500. For more information about COVID-19, visit jeffcohealth.org/coronavirus-covid19.
