The Jefferson County Health Department reported 23 news cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus this evening (April 17), bringing the total number of cases in the county to 177.
It is the county’s largest number of cases announced in one day since March 23, when the first three were announced. New cases have been announced every day since then, and the second largest number of cases in one day was reported on March 31, when there were 16 cases.
The Health Department also announced this evening that Festus Manor Care Center has had 40 positive cases, including both residents and staff members. The Health Department previously reported several cases at the facility and one coronavirus-related death – a female resident in her 80s.
“We are in contact with our family members and are doing everything we can to support them,” a Festus Manor spokesperson said in a written statement. “We are also doing everything we can to ensure we prevent the spread within our facility through isolation and quarantine protocols. Our staff and residents will continue to adhere to CMS, CDC, local and state guidelines which include highly restrictive guest access, as well as the elimination of group functions until further notice.”
The Health Department reported three more positive cases at other long-term care facilities in the county. However, Brianne Zwiener, the Health Department’s communication specialist, said the Health Department would not name the other facilities at this time.
The Health Department said 104 of the county's positive cases are still active ones, which are the number of positive cases excluding COVID-19 deaths and those patients who have recovered.
The county has had three coronavirus-related deaths, and 70 recovered cases, which means the person “met at least the minimum CDC criteria to be released from case management,” Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said.
She said the “three minimum criteria are that they (patients diagnosed with the disease) are seven days past the onset of their symptoms, they have improved symptoms and they are fever free for at least 72 hours. This does not mean they are totally symptom free, only that their symptoms have improved.”
Vollmar said it’s important to also focus on the number of recovered cases.
The Health Department also has been made aware of social media posts that claim at least one employee at the Walmart store in the Twin City area has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, Zwiener said.
However, she didn’t provide other information about possible cases at Walmart.
“Health departments are prohibited from sharing location details unless there is a significant risk to public health and safety that can’t be managed through traditional case contact procedures,” the Health Department said today on its Facebook page. “We can assure the public that our team is working hard to follow up on all positive case contacts.”
Walmart did not answer requests for information about any possible cases at the store.
According to the Health Department’s dashboard on its website, the county has had 70 male cases, 85 female cases and 22 unknown cases.
The cases in the county include three people 10 or younger, 13 people in their 20s, 21 people in their 30s, 24 people in their 40s, 41 people in their 50s, 30 people in their 60s, 14 people in their 70s, six people in their 80s, five people in their 90s and 20 unknown.
Cases in the county have been reported for the following ZIP codes: 21 in 63010 (Arnold), seven in 63012, (Barnhart), seven in 63016 (Cedar Hill), three in 63019 (Crystal City), 12 in 63020 (De Soto), one in 63023 (Dittmer), four in 63025 (Eureka), 16 in 63026 (Fenton), 36 in 63028 (Festus), one in 63030 (Fletcher), three in 63048 (Herculaneum), nine in 63049 (High Ridge), six in 63050 (Hillsboro), nine in 63051 (House Springs), 15 in 63052 (Imperial), one in 63069 (Pacific) and five in 63070 (Pevely), and information is not available for 21 cases.
In addition, the Health Department reported it has monitored a total of 328 cases, and of those, 202 are still actively being monitored and another 126 have been released from monitoring.
Zwiener said a person who is being actively monitored has been in contact with a positive case, but is not showing symptoms. She said people who are actively monitored are quarantined to their homes and must take their temperature twice a day for 14 days.
Zwiener said a person released from monitoring has completed the 14 days without a temperature or symptoms.
On April 2, the Health Department announced the county’s first death related to the coronavirus – the Festus manor resident.
On April 5, the Health Department announced a second coronavirus-related death in the county. The resident was a male in his 40s, who had been hospitalized, according to the report.
The Health Department announced the third coronavirus-related death April 10 – a female in her 90s, who had been hospitalized, according to the report.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends everyone wear a cloth face mask while in a public setting, according to its website.
On April 3, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson issued a statewide stay-at-home order that took effect April 6, and the county has issued a stay-at-home order that remains in effect until further notice.
As of today, Missouri had 5,283 positive cases of the coronavirus and 165 deaths related to the disease, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the U.S. had 661,712 cases, including 1,282 probable cases and a total of 33,049 coronavirus-related deaths, including 4,225 probable deaths as of today.
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, go to jeffcohealth.org/coronavirus-covid19.
