The Jefferson County Health Department has announced six more COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the county’s total number of deaths from the disease to 90 since the pandemic began.
One of the six additional deaths was from a long-term care facility in the county, according to the Health Department.
The deaths included three men in their 60s, two women in their 70s and one man in his 70s, the Health Department reported.
“With each COVID-19 death we report, our hearts break a little more,” Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said. “These are not just numbers and statistics; they are people, residents of our community who will be missed by their friends and family.”
Of the county’s 90 COVID-19 deaths, 54 deaths have been from long-term care facilities.
The Health Department also has reported 116 new COVID-19 cases, including five at long-term care facilities.
As of midnight Tuesday (Nov. 3), the county had a total of 6,941 COVID-19 cases since the first ones were reported in March.
The Health Department continues to “strongly encourage” preventive measures to stem the spread of the virus, including avoiding crowds, physical distancing, wearing masks, frequently washing hands and staying home if you are sick.
“We urge the community to unite for the greater good and support each other as we work together to reduce the impact of COVID-19,” Vollmar said.
County COVID-19 stats
The county currently has 1,370 active cases, which includes lab-confirmed cases and probable cases.
Of the 6,941 cases in the county, 6,384 are lab confirmed and 557 are 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 1,477 people is quarantined, which means a person has a confirmed exposure to the virus and is in the process of completing a 14-day quarantine period.
A total of 5,463 people has been released from isolation, according to the Health Department.
Of the county’s total coronavirus cases, 714 have been at long-term care facilities, which includes residents and staff members who live in Jefferson County.
The county has had at least 20 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.
Color status
On Monday (Nov. 3), the Health Department moved the county back into the red status on its COVID-19 warning system – the highest level on the four-color system.
The red level indicates widespread and uncontrolled transmission.
Several factors are evaluated when determining the status, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and White House Pandemic Task Force guidelines. However, the main indicator is the seven-day rolling average of cases per day/per 100,000 residents.
If the county, which has a population of about 225,000 people, has a rolling average of 25 or more cases per day per 100,000 residents, it is moved to the red level.
Vollmar said Monday that the rolling average was 42.73 after the county saw 673 more COVID-19 cases over the previous week. That was an 87 percent increase from the previous week.
State, U.S. stats
Missouri has had 193,023 positive cases of the coronavirus and 3,088 deaths related to the disease, the DHSS reported today (Nov. 4).
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the U.S. has had 9,357,245 cases, and a total of 231,988 coronavirus-related 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.
