ST. LOUIS — The number of coronavirus cases continues to rise in Missouri as testing continues to ramp up. St. Louis County now has 90 cases, and Missouri now has more than 200.
St. Louis County announced the increase in a Monday evening news release.
When combining the most up to date numbers from the state, and health departments in the St. Louis Area, there are at least 211 cases across the state.
According to the most recent update on the state's website, there are 183 cases across the state, including 69 in St. Louis County, 15 in St. Louis and four in St. Charles County.
St. Louis County's update came in at 6:20 p.m. It also provided an age breakdown for all the county's cases.
In a Monday afternoon news release, St. Louis said it had 22 cases, including one death. St. Charles County is also reporting six cases, two more than the state's total for that county. St. Charles County also reported its first coronavirus-related death, a man in his 70s. They are the fourth and fifth deaths in the state and the third in the St. Louis area.
Jefferson County announced its first three cases Monday night.
The state's list said there are six cases with locations listed as TBD, and it is not known if those cases are in Jefferson County, St. Charles County, St. Louis County or St. Louis.
The age breakdowns for the cases listed on the state's website are as follows:
- Under 20 — 3
- 20-29 — 46
- 30-39 — 22
- 40-49 — 18
- 50-59 — 39
- 60-69 — 30
- 70+ — 25
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson gave an update on the coronavirus response in the state Monday afternoon. You can watch his Facebook live stream by clicking play in the video below.
Gov. Parson announced the capitol building and state office buildings will close to the public beginning Tuesday, March 24 to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Government workers will continue working, but it will be from their homes instead of in the office. Essential personnel have been identified and they will be the only people allowed in government buildings beginning Tuesday.
During his Monday afternoon updated, Gov. Parson also announced he has signed an executive order suspending local regulations that ban restaurants from selling unprepared food.
"We hope this will not only assist restaurants financially during this time and avoid unnecessary waste, but also help meet the increased demand for food across the state," Gov. Parson said.
The governor assured Missourians the empty grocery store shelves are due to increased demand, not a lack of supply.
"Our food supply remains strong," he said. "Our farmers, ranchers, processors, manufacturers and grocery stores are working hard to keep the shelves restocked."
As for getting much-needed personal personal protective equipment to hospitals across the state, Missouri Department of Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten said a new shipment went out to Monday afternoon.
The state is working to get millions of PPE items, including gowns, masks, shields, goggles and gloves. Last week, more than 500,000 items were shipped to 147 hospitals and EMS agencies across the state.