ST. LOUIS — On Thursday, there was a line of cars leading to white tents in a parking lot, a symbol of 2020 and the coronavirus testing that happens inside.
Health experts say testing is up again in St. Louis after a Christmas holiday slump, and many of the people getting tested said they were worried their recent actions have left them open to infection.
“Our concern is that a lot of times, what we've been seeing is individuals will engage in risky behavior, then they'll get tested afterward,” Acting Health Director Dr. Fredrick Echols said. “What we really want individuals to focus on is prevention.”
Echols said they're urging people to stay home for the New Year's countdown to prevent an uptick in new cases. It's the same message you'll find across the river.
“Today is New Year's Eve, which traditionally we like to get together with family and friends and celebrate the new year," St. Clair County’s Barb Hohlt said. "I think a lot of us would like to see 2020 go, but again, please keep those social events to your very own pod, your very own bubble of the folks you've been with.”
With positivity rates as high as they are, health experts say even small parties will likely have someone carrying the virus.
“At this point in time, the percent positivity rate for the city of St. Louis is 15, meaning that roughly one out of every six individuals that get tested for COVID-19 is testing positive. So there's a lot of virus circulating in our community,” Echols said.
