ST. LOUIS — Missouri health officials reported on Saturday the state's biggest one-day increase in COVID-19 cases amid record hospitalizations across the state.
Missouri now has 235,722 positive cases, an increase of 6,346 cases. The death toll rose by 14 to 3,373 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' website.
Hospitalizations across the state also hit a record of 2,523, an increase of about 23% in one week
The seven-day average of new cases reached 3,996. Missouri is now seeing 28,000 new cases per week, or an average of 4,000 new cases per day, health officials said. During the previous week, the rate was 2,800 new cases per day.
The state's dashboard said cases are up 24.7% in the last seven days when compared to the previous seven days. Testing is down 11.3% in that same time, according to the dashboard.
The seven-day average positivity in the state was 24.3% Saturday, the highest of the pandemic.
In the St. Louis area, the task force reported seven-day records for new admissions and total hospitalizations.
It comes a day after the task force called for a statewide mask mandate and a "safer at home" policy that would call on Missourians to stay home unless they are going to work, school or other essential activities.
"Our health care heroes have fought valiantly day after day," he said, fighting back emotion. "We have no reserves. We have no back up that we can suddenly muster to save the day. If we stay the path we are on, even just two more weeks, we will not have the staff we need to care for patients. It’s a numbers game. We are danger-close."
The full update from the task force Saturday is as follows:
- New hospital admissions (data lagged two days) decreased – from 125 yesterday to 114 today.
- The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions (data lagged two days) increased from 105 yesterday to 107 today, a new seven-day moving average record.
- The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations increased – from 628 yesterday to 653 today, a new seven-day moving average record.
- Inpatient confirmed COVID positive hospitalizations decreased – from 719 yesterday to 710 today.
- Inpatient suspected COVID positive hospitalizations decreased – from 149 yesterday to 112 today.
- The number of confirmed COVID positive patients in the ICUs increased – from 140 yesterday to 147 today.
- The number of confirmed COVID positive patients on ventilators decreased – from 82 yesterday to 81 today.
- Across the system hospitals, 133 COVID-19 patients were discharged yesterday, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 patients discharged to 8,952.
In Illinois, the health department reported a record number of new tests for the second day in a row. The state reported nearly 150,000 tests on a single day in September, but that was due to a backlog of cases.
On Saturday, the state reported 11,028 new cases, 166 new deaths and 114,370 new tests.
Saturday's increase in deaths was the highest in the state since May, but the health department said it was due in part to incomplete death data on Friday.
The seven-day average positivity in the Metro East increased to 15.2%. It was the eighth consecutive day the region's positivity rate increased.
