ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported a slight jump in COVID-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday.
The metrics released by the task force showed that while new coronavirus hospital admissions are up from Monday to Tuesday, the overall 7-day moving average is still on a downward trajectory.
The total number of patients hospitalized at task force hospitals now stands at 531. That's up from 493 reported on Monday.
As of Tuesday, the task force is also reporting 137 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and 94 on ventilators. There were 98 reported Monday.
On Monday, the task force reported fewer than 500 COVID-19 hospitalizations for the first time since early April.
Task Force Incident Commander Dr. Alex Garza said Monday the 7-day moving average for new patients has steadily decreased since early April with "a few upticks."
The Monday to Tuesday increase appears to be one of those "upticks".
"As this number continues to come down, it helps us be confident in the steps that we're taking," Dr. Garza said on Monday, "and that the health care systems are going to be ready and able to take care of COVID patients without becoming overwhelmed."
The task force reported 37 patients were discharged on Monday, and 1,711 have been discharged overall.
