JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — (AP) — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is reporting 310 more confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 27,443.
The state on Sunday also reported five more deaths, bringing the total to 1,069.
State health officials say new cases of the coronavirus are being spread primarily by young people who infect many others. Health department spokeswoman Lisa Cox on Friday said that the average age of newly diagnosed cases in the past week was 37.4.
Officials suspect the actual number of people with COVID-19 is much higher than the state-released statistics indicate because many people with mild or no symptoms do not get tested.
St. Charles County and Jefferson County each reported high numbers of new cases over the weekend.
The Jefferson County Health Department said it added 25 new cases on Friday, 42 cases on Saturday and 10 cases on Sunday. Saturday's increase was the largest single-day increase in the county since the pandemic began.
The St. Charles County Health Department reported 1691 total COVID-19 cases, a single-day increase of 92 cases. In the last 14 days, St. Charles County reported 650 new cases. In the previous 14 days, the county reported 133 new cases.
In both counties, leaders are considering measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Missouri reported 888 COVID-19 hospitalizations on July 9, an increase of five hospitalizations from the previous day's data. The data is lagged three days to ensure accuracy. It was the highest number of hospitalizations in the state since May 6.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force said almost all the data they track increased Sunday.
- New hospital admissions (data lagged two days) increased – from 35 yesterday to 36 today. *
- The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions (data lagged two days) increased – 26 yesterday to 27 today. *
- The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations increased from 168 yesterday to 171 today.
- Inpatient confirmed COVID positive hospitalizations increased - from 170 yesterday to 180 today.
- Inpatient suspected COVID positive hospitalizations decreased – from 170 yesterday to 141 today.
- The number of confirmed COVID positive patients in the ICUs increased – from 40 yesterday to 45 today.
- The number of confirmed COVID positive patients on ventilators increased – from 21 yesterday to 23 today.
- Across the system hospitals, 24 COVID-19 patients were discharged yesterday, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 patients discharged to 3,183
On Friday, Dr. Alex Garza, the head of the task force, reiterated that the numbers on the rise show that there has been accelerated transmission in the community.
"We need to refocus," Dr. Garza said. "It has to be a collective effort."
When asked about hospital capacities, Dr. Garza said levels in the area are manageable right now, but it's how the numbers are trending that worries him.
For a full county-by-county breakdown of cases in the state, use our interactive map. Some of the local county numbers come from local health departments and may not match data from the DHSS.
