The Jefferson County Health Department reported 26 new COVID-19 cases today (July 13), bringing the total number of cases in the county to 769 since the first ones were reported in March.
One new case was reported at a long-term care facility.
Of the county’s total cases, 214 are open, or active, ones, the Health Department reported today.
That is the highest number of active case counts the county has had since tracking the numbers in March, the Health Department reported.
Active cases are the number of positive cases excluding COVID-19 deaths and those patients who have been released from isolation.
The Health Department reported that the county has had 23 COVID-19-related deaths, and 532 people have been released from isolation, which means they recovered enough to be released from case management.
“We are experiencing the repercussions of lax attitudes toward preventive safety measures such as wearing masks and social distancing over the holiday,” Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said. “Immediate behavioral changes are needed to stem the coming strain on our health-care system as the disease spreads from younger, healthier populations to those more at risk.”
Health Department officials say there can be a one- to two-week lag from the time someone contracts the disease until symptoms occur, and then typically it takes one to two days between the time a person is tested and the results are reported to the Health Department.
The Health Department encourages residents to pay attention to the agency’s system that warns about the level of threat to the community from COVID-19 at any given time. The system uses a green, yellow or red guidance status to indicate the level of threat.
Currently the county is at the yellow guidance status, which means people should continue taking preventive steps to curb the spread of the virus.
The system also has a green level, which is less restrictive, and a red level, which would have more restrictions in place.
For more information about the system, go to jeffcohealth.org.
Mandatory mask discussion
Health Department Board of Trustees members have said they plan to hold a meeting to discuss the pandemic and preventive measures, including a possible mandatory mask order. However, as of today, no meeting had been scheduled.
Vollmar said she has received more than 500 emails about the possibility of mandatory masks and has read them all and wants the board to review them.
She also said she received personal threats from people who oppose a mandatory masks after announcements were made on social media about a discussion about the issue.
"That has caused a lot of people to be extremely angry," she said.
Vollmar said the social media post stated the Health board would be voting on the issue, but she said only a discussion was planned and no agenda for the meeting had been set.
Vollmar said she would not provide specific details about the threats against her.
“I went into public service because I didn't want to be in politics. I didn't want to deal with things like this,” she said.
County coronavirus stats
Of the county’s total cases, 697 are lab-confirmed cases and 72 are probable cases, according to the Health Department.
In addition, 65 county residents have been hospitalized due to the coronavirus, the Health Department reported.
The Health Department also reported today that 18 of the county’s cases were transmitted through travel, 383 were from contact and 368 are unknown.
According to the Health Department, 313 of the county’s coronavirus cases have been men, 420 cases have been women and 36 are unknown.
The confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county include 11 people younger than nine, 33 people 10 to 19 years old, 126 people 20-29 years old, 104 people 30-39 years old, 105 people 40-49 years old, 129 people 50-59 years old, 113 people 60-69 years old, 58 people 70-79 years old, 51 people in their 80s or older and 39 unknown.
The Health Department also reported that cases in the county have been reported for the following ZIP codes: 120 cases and 82 recovered cases in 63010 (Arnold), 31 cases and 22 recovered cases in 63012 (Barnhart), 32 cases and 21 recovered cases in 63016 (Cedar Hill), 13 cases and 10 recovered cases in 63019 (Crystal City), 44 cases and 32 recovered cases in 63020 (De Soto), seven cases and six recovered case in 63023 (Dittmer), 14 cases and seven recovered cases in 63025 (Eureka), 92 cases and 73 recovered cases in 63026 (Fenton), 140 cases and 107 recovered cases in 63028 (Festus), one case and one recovered case in 63047 (Hematite), four cases and four recovered in 63048 (Herculaneum), 50 cases and 31 recovered cases in 63049 (High Ridge), 22 cases and 12 recovered cases in 63050 (Hillsboro), 46 cases and 29 recovered cases in 63051 (House Springs), 92 cases and 46 recovered cases in 63052 (Imperial), two cases and one recovered case in 63069 (Pacific) and 21 cases and 15 recovered cases in 63070 (Pevely). Thirty-eight cases do not have ZIP code information.
In addition, the Health Department reported today that it has monitored a total of 1,138 cases, and of those, 406 are still actively being monitored and another 732 have been released from monitoring.
Brianne Zwiener, communications specialist with the Health Department, 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.
Long-term care facilities
Of the county’s total cases of the coronavirus, 196 have been at long-term care facilities, which includes residents and staff members who live inside Jefferson County.
Jefferson County has had at least five COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities.
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.
Of the county’s 23 COVID-19 deaths, 17 have been in long term-care facilities, the Health Department reported.
The Health Department also reported that of the total number of cases at long-term care facilities, 14 are active ones, and 165 have been released from isolation. Residents in long-term care facilities go through two quarantine periods before being released from isolation.
Also, according to the Health Department, 19 people from long-term care facilities have been hospitalized.
State, U.S. stats
As of today, Missouri had 27,890 positive cases of the coronavirus and 1,083 deaths related to the disease, according to the DHSS.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported the U.S. had 3,296,599 cases, which includes 60,469 new cases, and a total of 134,884 coronavirus-related deaths, including 312 new 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, visit jeffcohealth.org/coronavirus-covid19.
