Missouri, Springfield officials announce second positive coronavirus case
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KMIZ)
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced the state's second presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in Missouri on Thursday night.
Parson said the patient is in the their twenties and recently traveled to Austria. Parson said at this time a state of emergency has not been declared.
Parson held the news conference in Springfield with Mayor Ken McClure and the local health department director.
The Missouri State Public Health Laboratory with DHSS has tested a total of 73 individuals for COVID-19 including the presumptive positive case announced Thursday.
Craig Parsons, deputy administrator of the Randolph County Health Department, said Friday that two Randolph County residents were tested, but the tests happened outside of Randolph County. They were tested because of their travel history and have quarantined themselves but their test results were not complete Thursday, he said.
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services spokeswoman Lisa Cox said the second person in the state who tested positive is a Greene County resident.
Cox also said a state hotline dedicated to COVID-19 was overwhelmed with about 1,200 calls Thursday.
Last week state officials announced a woman in St. Louis County was positive for the virus in a preliminary test. The woman had visited Italy, officials said.
More than 1,300 people in the United States have tested positive for the virus and more than 30 people in the country have died. Officials in Kansas City and St. Louis declared states of emergency in response to the outbreak Thursday.
The World Health Organization has called COVID-19 a global pandemic, prompting governments and organizations to implement restrictions to gatherings and people's movement to try to slow the spread of the virus.
The University of Missouri canceled in-person classes this week and will hold those classes remotely next week. Stephens College followed with a similar move Thursday.
