The Jefferson County Health Department reported 37 new COVID-19 cases today (July 28), bringing the total number of cases in the county to 1,248 since the first ones were reported in March.
With the rise in COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks, Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar has urged the Health Department Board of Trustees to escalate measures to limit the spread of the virus, and the board was expected to vote on a mandatory mask order this afternoon at a special meeting that lasted more than four hours.
However, no vote was taken on the issue during the contentious meeting, the second one over the past two weeks.
Instead, the board decided to step up efforts to educate the public about the importance of wearing masks, social distancing and taking other practicing other preventive measures.
However, early in the meeting board members voted 3-2 to approve a resolution requiring Health Department employees and others who visit any of the agency’s buildings or mobile units to wear masks.
Board members Dennis Diehl, Tim Pigg and Amber Henry voted yes, and Suzy Davis and James Prater voted no.
After the vote, Diehl asked Davis to put on a mask and she refused. All the other board members wore one.
The board also voted 4-1, with Davis casting the dissenting vote, to issue a mandatory isolation and quarantine order for a long-term care facility that reportedly has not been following voluntary isolation and quarantine following a COVID-19 outbreak.
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 total cases, 339 are open, or active, ones, 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 the county has had 25 COVID-19-related deaths and 884 people have been released from isolation, which means they recovered enough to be released from case management.
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.
County coronavirus stats
Of the county’s total cases, 1,141 are lab-confirmed cases and 107 are probable cases, according to the Health Department.
In addition, 80 county residents have been hospitalized due to the coronavirus, the Health Department reported.
The Health Department also reported today that 29 of the county’s cases were transmitted through travel, 573 were from contact and 646 are unknown.
According to the Health Department, 492 of the county’s coronavirus cases have been men, 653 cases have been women and 103 are unknown.
The confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county include 30 people younger than nine, 78 people 10 to 19 years old, 206 people 20-29 years old, 163 people 30-39 years old, 173 people 40-49 years old, 190 people 50-59 years old, 146 people 60-69 years old, 75 people 70-79 years old, 59 people in their 80s or older and 128 unknown.
The Health Department also reported that cases in the county have been reported for the following ZIP codes: 192 cases and 125 recovered cases in 63010 (Arnold), 46 cases and 32 recovered cases in 63012 (Barnhart), 41 cases and 31 recovered cases in 63016 (Cedar Hill), 17 cases and 13 recovered cases in 63019 (Crystal City), 56 cases and 42 recovered cases in 63020 (De Soto), 12 cases and nine recovered case in 63023 (Dittmer), 20 cases and 14 recovered cases in 63025 (Eureka), 131 cases and 90 recovered cases in 63026 (Fenton), 180 cases and 139 recovered cases in 63028 (Festus), one case and one recovered case in 63047 (Hematite), 12 cases and 10 recovered in 63048 (Herculaneum), 77 cases and 57 recovered cases in 63049 (High Ridge), 49 cases and 30 recovered cases in 63050 (Hillsboro), 62 cases and 51 recovered cases in 63051 (House Springs), 149 cases and 105 recovered cases in 63052 (Imperial), one case and zero recovered cases in 63065 (Mapaville), four cases and two recovered case in 63069 (Pacific) and 33 cases and 22 recovered cases in 63070 (Pevely). Another 165 cases do not have ZIP code information.
In addition, the Health Department reported today that it has monitored a total of 1,733 cases, and of those, 714 are still actively being monitored and another 1,019 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, 262 have been at long-term care facilities, which includes residents and staff members who live inside Jefferson County. No new cases were reported today.
Jefferson County has had at least eight COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities, Vollmar said.
Of the county’s 25 COVID-19 deaths, 18 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, 70 are active ones, and 174 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, 22 people from long-term care facilities have been hospitalized.
State, U.S. stats
As of today, Missouri had 44,823 positive cases of the coronavirus and 1,213 deaths related to the disease, according to the DHSS.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported the U.S. had 4,280,135 cases, which includes 54,448 new cases, and a total of 147,672 coronavirus-related deaths, including 1,126 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.
