The Jefferson County Health Department reported 70 new COVID-19 cases today (Oct. 20), including two at long-term care facilities.
That brings the total number of cases in the county to 5,681 since the first ones were reported in March.
Those cases are through midnight Monday (Oct. 19), according to the Health Department.
Of those cases, 972 cases are active ones, which includes lab confirmed cases and probable cases, which are still under investigation and have not been released from either quarantine or isolation, the Health Department reported.
The county also has had a total of 66 COVID-19-related deaths since the pandemic began. The last COVID-19 death in the county was on Oct. 7, according to the Health Department report.
Of the 5,681 cases in the county, 5,249 are lab confirmed and 432 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 1,011 people currently is in quarantine, which means a person has a confirmed exposure to the virus and is in the process of completing a 14-day quarantine period.
Of the county’s total coronavirus cases, 652 have been at long-term care facilities, which includes residents and staff members who live in Jefferson County.
Of the 66 COVID-19 deaths, 48 have been at long-term care facilities, the Health Department reported.
The county has had at least 19 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.
The county currently is in the orange level on the Health Department’s four-color COVID-19 warning system. The orange level is the second highest level on the system and indicates widespread but controlled transmission of the virus.
Next board meeting
The Board of Trustees next meeting is 3 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 22) at the Health Department’s office in Hillsboro.
No discussion about masks or a mask mandate is expected. However, the board is expected to review a contract to hire a company to help with contact tracing, which is contacting people who have possibly been exposed to a COVID-19 patient.
Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said the company would be paid with CARES Act funding.
State stats
Missouri has had 159,625 positive coronavirus cases and 2,615 deaths related to the disease, the DHSS reported 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.
