ST. LOUIS — The number of new COVID-19 patients admitted to St. Louis hospitals doubled Friday, a day after task force hospitals reported their fewest new patients in months.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force released its latest numbers Friday afternoon.
The number of new coronavirus patients in St. Louis task force hospitals went from 11 reported Thursday to 22 reported Friday. That’s the highest number in a week. While, Thursday’s number was the lowest number recorded since the task force began keeping track at the beginning of April.
The graph below shows the both the daily (white bars) and seven-day average (blue line) of new coronavirus patients who checked in to task force hospitals.
The overall number of coronavirus patients in task force hospitals also rose Friday to 316. However, the seven-day moving average continued its downward trend.
The graph below shows both the daily (white bars) and seven-day average (blue line) of total COVID-19 patients who are being treated at task force hospitals.
The full breakdown of data trends from the task force is below.
- New hospital admissions: 22, up from 11
- Seven-day moving average of new hospital admissions: stayed the same at 17
- Hospitalizations: 316, up from 307
- Seven-day moving average of hospitalizations: 326, down from 333
- Patients in the ICU: 68, down from 72
- Patients on ventilators: stayed the same at 43
Over the last 24 hours, 22 COVID-19 patients were released from task force hospitals, bringing the total to 2,394 COVID-19 patients sent home to recover since the first case was reported in the area.
Task force incident commander Dr. Alex Garza plans to give his next live stream update next Friday, June 12.
8 steps to stay healthy as cities reopen
Signs of what life was like before the coronavirus pandemic are beginning to make their way around St. Louis and St. Louis County.
But doctors say some of the changes we’ve made in our everyday lives need to stick around, possibly until a vaccine is approved.
“The virus hasn’t left. It hasn’t changed. It’s still here. It’s still very contagious and it’s still very dangerous,” Dr. Alex Garza said previously. He’s the incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force.
For weeks now, Dr. Garza has stressed the importance of social distancing, frequently washing hands and cleaning surfaces. He said as economies and businesses reopen, it’s especially important to continue those practices that helped slow the spread of COVID-19 in the St. Louis area.
“We also know that we’re never going to be at zero transmission until there’s a vaccine. So, we have to learn how to live with the virus and take all those important steps to keep it in check,” Dr. Garza said.
To help keep the coronavirus in check in the St. Louis area, Dr. Garza offered these eight steps to keep yourself, your loved ones and the entire community safe.
- Stay 6 feet apart from others – the exception being those you live with
- Wear a face mask in public
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- Clean surfaces regularly, including phones, counters, light switches – anything that’s touched frequently
- Monitor yourself for signs of illness, contact your doctor if you’re experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
- Don’t gather with more than 10 people
- Stay at home if you’re vulnerable or at high risk of infection
- Don’t visit nursing homes or assisted-living facilities
“These are the steps we all need to make to keep the transmission rate low and to prevent the new surge in cases,” Dr. Garza said.
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