ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson said the city's COVID-19 cases are expected to reach a peak toward the end of this week, she explained during her regular coronavirus briefing live on Facebook Monday afternoon.
Krewson also announced two new testing sites are now open, located at 4414 N. Florissant Avenue and 3930 S. Broadway.
"These tests are free, so you don’t have to be concerned about that," she said.
Krewson said the city has ordered thousands of tests but has not yet received them.
"We want to reopen the economy as soon as it’s safe to do so and one of the things you need is more testing," she said.
The director of the city's health department, Dr. Fred Echols, also took questions. He said although there are more than 800 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the initial projections were higher. He credited social distancing.
"If people were not doing those things, the numbers could be well over 1,000 or 1,500," Echols said.
As of April 19, there have been 857 total confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the city's website. Thirty people have died and 133 people are in quarantine due to exposure.
The city's stay-at-home order has been extended without an end date, Krewson announced last week. She said she would revisit the order on or before May 15.
The new order requires the owners of essential businesses to provide personal protective equipment for their employees, like face coverings. It also recommends people wear face coverings while out in public places, like grocery stores.
Krewson hosts these sessions three times per week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2 p.m.
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