Almost a year ago, on March 23, 2020, the Jefferson County Health Department announced the county’s first three COVID-19 cases, a man in his 60s, a woman in her 60s and a woman in her 70s.
Since then the county has seen tens of thousands of people contract the virus and more than 200 die from the disease. While the statistics are grim, vaccinations are being administered, giving health officials hope brighter days may soon arrive.
As of March 15, there were 21,532 COVID-19 cases reported in Jefferson County and 483,748 cases statewide.
Almost a year ago, on March 23, 2020, the Jefferson County Health Department announced the county’s first three COVID-19 cases, a man in his 60s, a woman in her 60s and a woman in her 70s.
Since then the county has seen tens of thousands of people contract the virus and more than 200 die from the disease. While the statistics are grim, vaccinations are being administered, giving health officials hope brighter days may soon arrive.
As of March 15, there were 21,532 COVID-19 cases reported in Jefferson County and 483,748 cases statewide.
Previously the Jefferson County Health Department had reported 21,841 cases in the county, but it recently switched its data system to Epitrax, which is the system the state uses and treats “probable cases” differently, resulting in a lower number of reported cases.
On April 2, only 10 days after the first cases were announced, the first COVID-19-related death in the county was reported – a woman in her 80s.
As of March 15, Jefferson County had 229 COVID-19 deaths, with victims ranging from a woman in her 30s, to both women and men in their 90s.
The state, which saw its first death from the virus on March 18, had 8,317 deaths as of Monday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
On March 9, the Health Department announced the county had entered the yellow color status on the agency’s COVID-19 warning system. The announcement of the yellow status, the second lowest level on the four-color warning system, comes after four weeks in the orange status and before that 14 weeks in the red status, which is the highest level on the system.
Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said she is happy to see cases declining after such high numbers of cases were reported in November and December. On November 13, a record of 373 cases was reported in a single day in the county, and the week of November 8 saw 1,629 cases in the county, the highest number of cases in a single week.
Jeana Vidacak, the Health Department’s public health preparedness coordinator, recalls going into “work mode” when the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Jefferson County.
“One of (Health Department employees) was on for 24 hours a day waiting for that first case and we realized afterwards, I don’t know what we would have done at 3 a.m. We were not going to call people to do their investigations at 3 a.m., but we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss it,” she said.
Vidacak said she does not really look at March 23 as the COVID-19 anniversary.
“For a lot of us we’ve already passed our one year,” she said. “We’ve gone back to our notes and it was like the last week of January that we started, and in February we were 100 percent in every single day talking and planning and speculating, and with so many different plans because every day, you would learn something different and then you’d shift.”
Lisa Rothweiler, chief operating officer for Comtrea, which offers health care services around the county and operates an assisted living facility in Festus, said the past year has been “like a roller coaster.”
She said Comtrea worked fast to make the switch to telemedicine – holding appointments virtually over the internet.
She said telemedicine has many benefits. For instance, if a patient has trouble finding transportation to an appointment, speaking over the phone eliminates the problem.
“A perfect example was when we had the (recent) snow. Last year I would have had to have a late start and we might have had to cancel three hours of appointments,” she said. “This year, we didn’t have to.”
However, telemedicine also has drawbacks. For one, many people in Jefferson County don’t have internet access.
Rothweiler also said there is no comparison for seeing a patient face to face.
Since the start of the pandemic, Comtrea officials and staff have had more to worry about than just COVID-19. Mental health problems also have been a big concern, said Rachael Bersdale, Comtrea’s chief behavioral health officer.
She said because of the pandemic, many people are dealing with elevated stress levels, intensified anxiety and emotional fatigue.
“The Eastern Region/St. Louis Metro Area initial data shows that there have been significant increases in death by overdose,” Bersdale said. “While there were initially decreases in reports of suicidal ideation, this has increased as the pandemic has continued.”
Another problem that has worsened during the pandemic is child abuse and domestic violence, although reports of the abuse have been on the decline.
Bersdale said the rise in child abuse and domestic violence might be attributed to partners and families being home together more frequently because they have lost a job or are working or learning from home.
Part of the reason reports of the abuse have declined despite the increase is because people have been more isolated, Bersdale said.
“Children were not being seen by those individuals who regularly report child abuse, such as school personnel and medical providers,” she said.
Vollmar said one major thing she and Health Department staff have learned over the past year is the importance of communication.
“Having folks not necessarily see public health coming in and being a helpful team was something we’ve had to overcome over time, but I think part of that was communication, helping people understand who we are and why we’re doing what we’re doing,” she said. “I just wish I would have known how better to create our messages so that people would relate to the work that we were doing.”
One of the communication problems the Health Department has experienced during the pandemic has revolved around face masks.
On August 27, the Health Department Board of Trustees voted to approve a mask mandate for the county, but 24 hours later revoked the ordinance after concerns were raised about whether the board followed proper procedures.
Three months later, though, the Health Department board approved a countywide face mask order in conjunction with the county government. The order requires residents to wear face masks in public spaces when social distancing cannot be maintained, but it does not call for any type of fine or penalty for people who violate it.
The county’s mask order originally went into effect Nov. 27, and it has been extended three times since then and is effective through March 25.
Vollmar said she believes the wearing of face masks is one of the reasons cases are on the decline right now.
Sara Wilton, the department’s epidemiologist, said it is hard to predict the future of COVID-19.
“There’s a lot of public health professionals who are hoping this is just going to become kind of like a common cold, or something similar to the flu, where we do track it and everything, but it’s not going to cause so many deaths and such severe illness and everything,” she said.
Those professionals hope that as more and more people are vaccinated, the virus will not be as dangerous.
Vidacak said she is focusing on the future and working to vaccinate community members.
“We need to make sure we just continue to take care of each other and watch out for each other,” she said. “I think the unity of this community, and this is a strong community, I think we lost that for a little bit, but if we can come back together, then I think we will be fine.”
Almost a year ago, on March 23, 2020, the Jefferson County Health Department announced the county’s first three COVID-19 cases, a man in his 60s, a woman in her 60s and a woman in her 70s.
Since then the county has seen tens of thousands of people contract the virus and more than 200 die from the disease. While the statistics are grim, vaccinations are being administered, giving health officials hope brighter days may soon arrive.
As of March 15, there were 21,532 COVID-19 cases reported in Jefferson County and 483,748 cases statewide.
Previously the Jefferson County Health Department had reported 21,841 cases in the county, but it recently switched its data system to Epitrax, which is the system the state uses and treats “probable cases” differently, resulting in a lower number of reported cases.
On April 2, only 10 days after the first cases were announced, the first COVID-19-related death in the county was reported – a woman in her 80s.
As of Monday, the county had 229 COVID-19 deaths, with victims ranging from a woman in her 30s, to both women and men in their 90s.
The state, which saw its first death from the virus on March 18, had 8,317 deaths as of Monday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
On March 9, the Health Department announced the county had entered the yellow color status on the agency’s COVID-19 warning system. The announcement of the yellow status, the second lowest level on the four-color warning system, comes after four weeks in the orange status and before that 14 weeks in the red status, which is the highest level on the system.
Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said she is happy to see cases declining after such high numbers of cases were reported in November and December. On November 13, a record of 373 cases was reported in a single day in the county, and the week of November 8 saw 1,629 cases in the county, the highest number of cases in a single week.
Jeana Vidacak, the Health Department’s public health preparedness coordinator, recalls going into “work mode” when the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Jefferson County.
“One of (Health Department employees) was on for 24 hours a day waiting for that first case and we realized afterwards, I don’t know what we would have done at 3 a.m. We were not going to call people to do their investigations at 3 a.m., but we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss it,” she said.
Vidacak said she does not really look at March 23 as the COVID-19 anniversary.
“For a lot of us we’ve already passed our one year,” she said. “We’ve gone back to our notes and it was like the last week of January that we started, and in February we were 100 percent in every single day talking and planning and speculating, and with so many different plans because every day, you would learn something different and then you’d shift.”
Lisa Rothweiler, chief operating officer for Comtrea, which offers health care services around the county and operates an assisted living facility in Festus, said the past year has been “like a roller coaster.”
She said Comtrea worked fast to make the switch to telemedicine – holding appointments virtually over the internet.
She said telemedicine has many benefits. For instance, if a patient has trouble finding transportation to an appointment, speaking over the phone eliminates the problem.
“A perfect example was when we had the (recent) snow. Last year I would have had to have a late start and we might have had to cancel three hours of appointments,” she said. “This year, we didn’t have to.”
However, telemedicine also has drawbacks. For one, many people in Jefferson County don’t have internet access.
Rothweiler also said there is no comparison for seeing a patient face to face.
Since the start of the pandemic, Comtrea officials and staff have had more to worry about than just COVID-19. Mental health problems also have been a big concern, said Rachael Bersdale, Comtrea’s chief behavioral health officer.
She said because of the pandemic, many people are dealing with elevated stress levels, intensified anxiety and emotional fatigue.
“The Eastern Region/St. Louis Metro Area initial data shows that there have been significant increases in death by overdose,” Bersdale said. “While there were initially decreases in reports of suicidal ideation, this has increased as the pandemic has continued.”
Another problem that has worsened during the pandemic is child abuse and domestic violence, although reports of the abuse have been on the decline.
Bersdale said the rise in child abuse and domestic violence might be attributed to partners and families being home together more frequently because they have lost a job or are working or learning from home.
Part of the reason reports of the abuse have declined despite the increase is because people have been more isolated, Bersdale said.
“Children were not being seen by those individuals who regularly report child abuse, such as school personnel and medical providers,” she said.
Vollmar said one major thing she and Health Department staff have learned over the past year is the importance of communication.
“Having folks not necessarily see public health coming in and being a helpful team was something we’ve had to overcome over time, but I think part of that was communication, helping people understand who we are and why we’re doing what we’re doing,” she said. “I just wish I would have known how better to create our messages so that people would relate to the work that we were doing.”
One of the communication problems the Health Department has experienced during the pandemic has revolved around face masks.
On August 27, the Health Department Board of Trustees voted to approve a mask mandate for the county, but 24 hours later revoked the ordinance after concerns were raised about whether the board followed proper procedures.
Three months later, though, the Health Department board approved a countywide face mask order in conjunction with the county government. The order requires residents to wear face masks in public spaces when social distancing cannot be maintained, but it does not call for any type of fine or penalty for people who violate it.
The county’s mask order originally went into effect Nov. 27, and it has been extended three times since then and is effective through March 25.
Vollmar said she believes the wearing of face masks is one of the reasons cases are on the decline right now.
Sara Wilton, the department’s epidemiologist, said it is hard to predict the future of COVID-19.
“There’s a lot of public health professionals who are hoping this is just going to become kind of like a common cold, or something similar to the flu, where we do track it and everything, but it’s not going to cause so many deaths and such severe illness and everything,” she said.
Those professionals hope that as more and more people are vaccinated, the virus will not be as dangerous.
Vidacak said she is focusing on the future and working to vaccinate community members.
“We need to make sure we just continue to take care of each other and watch out for each other,” she said. “I think the unity of this community, and this is a strong community, I think we lost that for a little bit, but if we can come back together, then I think we will be fine.”
, 21,532 COVID-19 cases had been reported in the county and 483,748 cases statewide.
Previously the Health Department had reported 21,841 cases in the county, but it recently switched its data system to Epitrax, which is the system the state uses and treats “probable cases” differently, resulting in a lower number of reported cases.
On April 2, only 10 days after the first cases were announced, the first COVID-19-related death in the county was reported – a woman in her 80s.
As of Monday, the county had 229 COVID-19 deaths, with victims ranging from a woman in her 30s, to both women and men in their 90s.
The state, which saw its first death from the virus on March 18, had 8,317 deaths as of Monday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
On March 9, the Health Department announced the county had entered the yellow color status on the agency’s COVID-19 warning system. The announcement of the yellow status, the second lowest level on the four-color warning system, comes after four weeks in the orange status and before that 14 weeks in the red status, which is the highest level on the system.
Health Department Director Kelley Vollmar said she is happy to see cases declining after such high numbers of cases were reported in November and December. On November 13, a record of 373 cases was reported in a single day in the county, and the week of November 8 saw 1,629 cases in the county, the highest number of cases in a single week.
Jeana Vidacak, the Health Department’s public health preparedness coordinator, recalls going into “work mode” when the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Jefferson County.
“One of (Health Department employees) was on for 24 hours a day waiting for that first case and we realized afterwards, I don’t know what we would have done at 3 a.m. We were not going to call people to do their investigations at 3 a.m., but we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss it,” she said.
Vidacak said she does not really look at March 23 as the COVID-19 anniversary.
“For a lot of us we’ve already passed our one year,” she said. “We’ve gone back to our notes and it was like the last week of January that we started, and in February we were 100 percent in every single day talking and planning and speculating, and with so many different plans because every day, you would learn something different and then you’d shift.”
Lisa Rothweiler, chief operating officer for Comtrea, which offers health care services around the county and operates an assisted living facility in Festus, said the past year has been “like a roller coaster.”
She said Comtrea worked fast to make the switch to telemedicine – holding appointments virtually over the internet.
She said telemedicine has many benefits. For instance, if a patient has trouble finding transportation to an appointment, speaking over the phone eliminates the problem.
“A perfect example was when we had the (recent) snow. Last year I would have had to have a late start and we might have had to cancel three hours of appointments,” she said. “This year, we didn’t have to.”
However, telemedicine also has drawbacks. For one, many people in Jefferson County don’t have internet access.
Rothweiler also said there is no comparison for seeing a patient face to face.
Since the start of the pandemic, Comtrea officials and staff have had more to worry about than just COVID-19. Mental health problems also have been a big concern, said Rachael Bersdale, Comtrea’s chief behavioral health officer.
She said because of the pandemic, many people are dealing with elevated stress levels, intensified anxiety and emotional fatigue.
“The Eastern Region/St. Louis Metro Area initial data shows that there have been significant increases in death by overdose,” Bersdale said. “While there were initially decreases in reports of suicidal ideation, this has increased as the pandemic has continued.”
Another problem that has worsened during the pandemic is child abuse and domestic violence, although reports of the abuse have been on the decline.
Bersdale said the rise in child abuse and domestic violence might be attributed to partners and families being home together more frequently because they have lost a job or are working or learning from home.
Part of the reason reports of the abuse have declined despite the increase is because people have been more isolated, Bersdale said.
“Children were not being seen by those individuals who regularly report child abuse, such as school personnel and medical providers,” she said.
Vollmar said one major thing she and Health Department staff have learned over the past year is the importance of communication.
“Having folks not necessarily see public health coming in and being a helpful team was something we’ve had to overcome over time, but I think part of that was communication, helping people understand who we are and why we’re doing what we’re doing,” she said. “I just wish I would have known how better to create our messages so that people would relate to the work that we were doing.”
One of the communication problems the Health Department has experienced during the pandemic has revolved around face masks.
On August 27, the Health Department Board of Trustees voted to approve a mask mandate for the county, but 24 hours later revoked the ordinance after concerns were raised about whether the board followed proper procedures.
Three months later, though, the Health Department board approved a countywide face mask order in conjunction with the county government. The order requires residents to wear face masks in public spaces when social distancing cannot be maintained, but it does not call for any type of fine or penalty for people who violate it.
The county’s mask order originally went into effect Nov. 27, and it has been extended three times since then and is effective through March 25.
Vollmar said she believes the wearing of face masks is one of the reasons cases are on the decline right now.
Sara Wilton, the department’s epidemiologist, said it is hard to predict the future of COVID-19.
“There’s a lot of public health professionals who are hoping this is just going to become kind of like a common cold, or something similar to the flu, where we do track it and everything, but it’s not going to cause so many deaths and such severe illness and everything,” she said.
Those professionals hope that as more and more people are vaccinated, the virus will not be as dangerous.
Vidacak said she is focusing on the future and working to vaccinate community members.
“We need to make sure we just continue to take care of each other and watch out for each other,” she said. “I think the unity of this community, and this is a strong community, I think we lost that for a little bit, but if we can come back together, then I think we will be fine.”
