The Jefferson County Health Department reported 52 new COVID-19 cases since Friday (July 10).
None of the new cases were at long-term care facilities.
The county had 42 new cases on Saturday (July 11), the largest number of cases in a single day in the county since the pandemic began.
Another 10 cases were reported today (July 12), according to the Health Department.
That brings the total number of cases in the county to 743 since the first ones were reported in March.
“We have seen a significant increase in new cases,” the Health Department reported.
“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 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.
Of the county’s total cases, 200 are open, or active, ones, the Health Department reported today. 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 520 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.
Mandatory masks?
The Health Department Board of Trustees is expected to hold a meeting sometime next week to discuss the pandemic and preventive measures.
The meeting date has not been announced, but the board is expected and vote at the meeting on whether to issue a mandatory mask order.
County coronavirus stats
Of the county’s total cases, 676 are lab-confirmed cases and 67 are probable cases, according to the Health Department.
In addition, 64 county residents have been hospitalized due to the coronavirus, the Health Department reported.
The Health Department also reported today that 17 of the county’s cases were transmitted through travel, 374 were from contact and 352 are unknown.
According to the Health Department, 299 of the county’s coronavirus cases have been men, 400 cases have been women and 44 are unknown.
The confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county include nine people younger than nine, 29 people 10 to 19 years old, 114 people 20-29 years old, 98 people 30-39 years old, 101 people 40-49 years old, 127 people 50-59 years old, 111 people 60-69 years old, 57 people 70-79 years old, 50 people in their 80s or older and 47 unknown.
The Health Department also reported that cases in the county have been reported for the following ZIP codes: 115 cases and 79 recovered cases in 63010 (Arnold), 23 cases and 21 recovered cases in 63012 (Barnhart), 29 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), 13 cases and five recovered cases in 63025 (Eureka), 89 cases and 74 recovered cases in 63026 (Fenton), 136 cases and 106 recovered cases in 63028 (Festus), one case and one recovered case in 63047 (Hematite), four cases and four recovered in 63048 (Herculaneum), 49 cases and 29 recovered cases in 63049 (High Ridge), 21 cases and 11 recovered cases in 63050 (Hillsboro), 46 cases and 28 recovered cases in 63051 (House Springs), 89 cases and 45 recovered cases in 63052 (Imperial), two cases and one recovered case in 63069 (Pacific) and 18 cases and 14 recovered cases in 63070 (Pevely). Forty-four cases do not have ZIP code information.
In addition, the Health Department reported today that it has monitored a total of 1,089 cases, and of those, 377 are still actively being monitored and another 712 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, 195 have been at long-term care facilities, which includes residents and staff members who live inside Jefferson County.
According to a dashboard the state has set up, Jefferson County has had five COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities. The outbreaks have been at Festus Manor Care Center; Big River Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Cedar Hill; Woodland Manor Nursing Center in Arnold; Scenic View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Herculaneum; and Fountainbleau Nursing Center south of Festus.
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, 12 are active ones, and 166 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 27,443 positive cases of the coronavirus and 1,069 deaths related to the disease, according to the DHSS.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported the U.S. had 3,236,130 cases, which includes 62,918 new cases, and a total of 134,572 coronavirus-related deaths, including 906 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.
