MISSOURI, USA — Missouri hospitals are filling to the brim with COVID-19 patients, and so are their intensive care units, where a record number of patients are now being treated.
Information posted Friday on the state health department's coronavirus dashboard shows 2,318 people hospitalized with the virus, 50 more than a day earlier and the highest number in seven months.
Also concerning is the seriousness of their illnesses: 689 COVID-19 patients are in Missouri intensive care units, the most since the pandemic began, topping 685 ICU patients on Dec. 23. The state information shows 384 people on ventilators.
ICU capacity is down to 15% statewide, and inpatient bed capacity is at 16%.
Dave Dillon of the Missouri Hospital Association said staffing is the biggest issue facing many hospitals after several weeks of a surge that began in June.
“The situation is becoming more difficult every day,” Dillon said in an email.
Emergency Room Medical Director Dr. Chase Ungs at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital agreed. Ungs told KRCG-TV that the volume of patients has been “through the roof” since the Fourth of July holiday. Just as in other places, most of those who are desperately ill are unvaccinated.
“It’s really tough," Ungs said. “I mean, we hear the stories of the patients who are severely ill and begging us for the vaccine, and it’s a hard conversation to have with those patients to tell them, ‘it’s too late, we’re sorry.’”
The state reported 2,213 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, with a seven-day average of 1,991 patients. The state also reported five additional deaths. All told, Missouri has reported 597,903 confirmed cases and 10,007 deaths since the pandemic began.
The mayor of Missouri's largest city wants to extend a mask mandate well into September.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Thursday introduced an ordinance that would require masks through Sept. 23, even for those who are fully vaccinated. The measure requires approval from the City Council. A council committee will take up the matter next week.
Kansas City's mask mandate began Aug. 2 and was originally scheduled to expire Aug. 28.