ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 1,458 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday as the weekly average positivity rate increased to 12.7%.
The department reported 87,213 cases and 1,542 deaths as of Wednesday, a single-day increase of 1,458 cases and four deaths.
Wednesday's increase in cases was 400 more than Tuesday and 32 more than last Wednesday.
Wednesday was the eighth consecutive day of more than 1,000 new cases.
The department reported a total of 998,097 PCR — or polymerase chain reaction — tests Wednesday, an increase of 6,853 tests in the last 24 hours. The state's positivity rate increased from 8.65% on Tuesday to 8.74% on Wednesday. According to the department's dashboard, the positivity rate for the last seven days was 12.7%.
On Wednesday, the state reported 934 COVID-19 hospitalizations across the state, down from 942 hospitalizations reported Tuesday. The number of hospitalizations is delayed by 72 hours to ensure accuracy, so the number reported Wednesday represents hospitalizations on Aug. 30.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force did not hold a briefing Wednesday afternoon. The task force did provide COVID-19 data from area hospitals, which showed the seven-day averages of new admissions and total admissions trending down.
Here are all the numbers from the task force:
- New hospital admissions (data lagged two days) increased – from 33 yesterday to 41 today.
- The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions (data lagged two days) decreased – from 43 yesterday to 40 today.
- The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations decreased – from 308 yesterday to 305 today.
- Inpatient confirmed COVID positive hospitalizations decreased – from 315 yesterday to 290 today.
- Inpatient suspected COVID positive hospitalizations increased – from 93 yesterday to 107 today.
- The number of confirmed COVID positive patients in the ICUs decreased – from 85 yesterday to 79 today.
- The number of confirmed COVID positive patients on ventilators decreased – from 49 yesterday to 44 today.
- Across the system hospitals, 55 COVID-19 patients were discharged yesterday, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 patients discharged to 5,231.
In St. Louis County, there were 187 new COVID-19 cases and 14 new deaths Wednesday, bringing the totals in the county to 19,852 cases and 752 deaths.
St. Louis County reports its own case and death numbers, which is why the number of deaths reported in the county was higher than the statewide death numbers on Wednesday.
In St. Louis, there were 55 newly reported COVID-19 cases and no new deaths Wednesday, bringing the totals in the city to 6,174 cases 188 deaths.
In St. Charles County, there were 60 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths Wednesday, bringing the totals in the county to 5,903 cases and 112 deaths.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 2,819 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Jefferson County Wednesday, an increase of 49 from the number reported by the state health department Tuesday.
The county says 47 people have died from COVID-19, an increase of one from Tuesday.
