State health director testifies about coronavirus response at Missouri Capitol
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The head of Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services said Tuesday that it's unlikely any COVID-19 patients who are not showing symptoms can spread the virus.
Dr. Randall Williams was among those testifying Tuesday before the legislature's Joint Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Awareness at the Missouri Capitol.
The Department of Health and Senior Services shared a presentation about COVID-19, taking lawmakers from the beginning of the infection to what health officials are doing now in Missouri.
During the hearing, Williams said the virus spreads through sneezing and coughing. Someone who is carrying the novel coronavirus but is not sneezing or coughing is far less likely to spread it to others, he said.
Williams said that his department has received $9.9 million from the federal government for its virus-fighting budget.
The guidelines for how this money will be spent are still being developed, Williams said. Emergency first responders may see some of the money as well, he said.
The state health department has done about 40 to 45 tests for COVID-19 but only one person -- a St. Louis County woman who had traveled to Italy -- has tested positive.
Williams said officials recently modified Missouri's pandemic influenza response plan to cover COVID-19 and that there should be a vaccination in about 14 months.
Williams said that people with COVID-19 are most infectious at seven days. The symptoms most common with COVID-19 are a fever of at least 100.4 degrees and a dry, hacking cough.
If someone does test positive, health officials watch them for 14 days. The infected person has to have two negative tests before officials deem them clear of the virus. Officials had been conducting two tests on every patient to confirm the virus, but Williams said those tests have now been combined into one.
More than 700 cases of COVID-19, the disease the novel coronavirus causes, have been identified in the United States and more than 25 of those have died.
Health authorities are also encouraging election officials to take caution at the polls Tuesday for the state's presidential primary.
