Jefferson County has had 14 new COVID-19 cases over the past three days, bringing the total number of cases to 363, the Jefferson County Health Department reported today.
The 14 cases are from Saturday, Sunday and today at of 3 p.m., according to the Health Department.
“When (Health Department) staff are informed of new positive cases, investigators immediately reach out to notify the individuals and identify any case contacts,” Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said. “It is extremely important that residents who test positive for COVID-19 follow up quickly with our investigators so they can begin notifying case contacts and slow the spread in our communities.”
Of the 363 cases in the county, 97 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 has reported 15 COVID-19-related deaths. The state has reported 17 deaths for the county, but Health Department officials say they believe that number is incorrect.
According to the Health Department, 251 people have been released from isolation, which means they recovered enough to be released from case management.
The minimum criteria for patients diagnosed with the disease to be released from case management is that they “are seven days past the onset of their symptoms, they have improved symptoms and they are fever free for at least 72 hours,” Vollmar said.
The Health Department also reported that 48 county residents have been hospitalized due to the coronavirus.
Health officials urge residents to continue practicing social distancing, frequently washing hands with soap and water or 60 percent alcohol-based hand sanitizer, wearing a face covering in public, staying home when you are sick, and covering your cough and sneeze.
Long-term care facilities
Of the county’s COVID-19 deaths, 11 of them have been in long-term care facilities. At least five of those deaths were residents at Festus Manor Care Center, where at least 62 residents and 25 staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Health Department reported a total of 133 coronavirus cases in 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 outbreaks in long-term care facilities. In addition to Festus Manor, the outbreaks have been at Big River Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Cedar Hill; Scenic View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Herculaneum; Fountainbleau Nursing Center south of Festus; and Woodland Manor Nursing Center in Arnold.
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services 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.
Out of the 133 cases in long-term care facilities, 78 cases are active and 44 have been released from isolation. Also, according to the Health Department, 18 people from long-term care facilities have been hospitalized.
Residents in long-term care facilities go through two quarantine periods before being released from isolation, the Health Department reported.
Testing
The Department of Health and Senior Services will hold free, drive-thru testing in the county Monday through Wednesday, June 1-3, as part of a statewide effort to get a better count of people who have the virus.
Health officials hope to test at least 500 people during the three-day event in Jefferson County.
“Testing everyone, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not, helps us to identify the percentage of COVID-positive people in our community,” Vollmar said. “The more information and data we can gather about COVID in our communities, the more equipped we are to make decisions for the county moving forward.”
The testing will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 1 and June 2 at Faith Community Church, 4824 Scottsdale Road, in House Springs and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 3, at the Hillsboro Community Civic Center, 10349 Business 21.
For more information about the testing, go to jeffcohealth.org/blog/2020/5/22/covid-19-drive-through-testing-available-in-jefferson-county-june-1-3.
County coronavirus stats
According to the Health Department, 155 cases are male, 203 cases are female and five unknown cases.
The confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county include one person younger than nine, seven people 10 to 19 years old, 36 people 20-29 years old, 50 people 30-39 years old, 49 people 40-49 years old, 82 people 50-59 years old, 67 people 60-69 years old, 35 people 70-79 years old, 33 people in their 80s or older and three unknown cases.
The Health Department also reported that cases in the county have been reported for the following ZIP codes: 45 cases and 34 recovered cases in 63010 (Arnold), 15 cases and 12 recovered cases in 63012 (Barnhart), 24 cases and 11 recovered cases in 63016 (Cedar Hill), nine cases and seven recovered cases in 63019 (Crystal City), 23 cases and 21 recovered cases in 63020 (De Soto), five cases and one recovered case in 63023 (Dittmer), four cases and four recovered cases in 63025 (Eureka), 30 cases and 25 recovered cases in 63026 (Fenton), 108 cases and 37 recovered cases in 63028 (Festus), four cases and three recovered in 63048 (Herculaneum), 16 cases and 13 recovered cases in 63049 (High Ridge), 13 cases and 10 recovered cases in 63050 (Hillsboro), 20 cases and 16 recovered cases in 63051(House Springs), 30 cases and 25 recovered cases in 63052 (Imperial), one case and one recovered case in 63069 (Pacific) and nine cases and eight recovered cases in 63070 (Pevely). Information is not available for seven cases.
In addition, the Health Department reported today that it has monitored a total of 667 cases, and of those, 300 are still actively being monitored and another 367 have been released from monitoring.
Zwiener 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.
Zwiener said a person released from monitoring has completed the 14 days without a temperature or symptoms.
State, U.S. stats
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone wear a face mask while in public, according to its website.
As of today, Missouri had 13,327 positive cases of the coronavirus and 775 deaths related to the disease, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The CDC reported the U.S. had 1,787,680 cases, which includes 26,177 new cases and a total of 104,396 coronavirus-related deaths, including 696 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.
