JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — Due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, the Jefferson County Health Department said the county is back to its second-highest alert status for the first time in months.
In its weekly COVID-19 update, the health department said an average of 10.41 cases per 100,000 residents were reported over the last seven days, surpassing the department's orange status threshold. It is the first time the county has been in the orange status since the week of April 25 through May 1.
As of Wednesday, there have been 255 COVID-related deaths in Jefferson County, none of which came in the last week. Health officials have said that deaths are a lagging indicator, coming weeks after an increase in cases and hospitalizations.
Health department epidemiologist Sara Wilton also said the county was notified for the first confirmed case of the delta variant in Jefferson County.
Health officials said the delta variant is now the dominant strain of COVID-19, accounting for an estimated 51.7% of new cases as of July 3, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projections. In order to confirm an individual case, genomic data needs to be sequenced.
According to CDC data, 74.6% of the 638 cases sequenced in Missouri from a four-week period spanning from late May to mid-June were identified as the delta variant. The next highest percentage of any state during that time was Nevada with 44.1%.
The delta variant, which was first identified in India, is more transmissible. Dr. Mike Ryan, the executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program, said the variant has the potential “to be more lethal because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans and it will eventually find those vulnerable individuals who will become severely ill, have to be hospitalized and potentially die."
The Jefferson County Health Department and other health officials say the best way to protect against the delta variant and all other COVID-19 variations is to get vaccinated.
In Jefferson County, 36.55% of the 185,536 eligible residents have been fully vaccinated, which is below the national average of 56.4%. The health department said 30.45% of all residents are fully vaccinated, which is below the statewide average of 39.8% and the national average of 48.2%.