Columbia moves out of ‘red zone’ in White House report; state improves national rank
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The latest White House 'red zone' report improved Missouri's rank for highest COVID-19 case rates in the United States.
ABC News obtained the report Tuesday morning that shows Missouri moved to fifth place last week from fourth the week before. The state also moved from seventh for test positivity to 10th last week.
The report showed the state reported 179 new cases per 100,000 people from Sept. 12 to Sept. 18 compared to the national average of 86 new cases per 100,000 people.
The new reported cases were up from the week before when Missouri reported 146 new cases per 100,000 people. The national average also saw an increase with only 74 new cases per 100,000 people the week of Sept. 5.
Ten mid-Missouri counties were in the red zone, according to the report. Those counties included:
- Cole
- Camden
- Callaway
- Phelps
- Miller
- Pulaski
- Randolph
- Moniteau
- Osage
- Maries
Jefferson City stayed at third in the state for highest case rates and stayed in the red zone in the latest report. Columbia and Boone County moved to the yellow zone, meaning between 10 and 100 new cases per 100,000 people were reported during the week.
The report added that 15 percent of nursing homes had at least one resident test positive for the virus, 28 percent had at least one staff case and five percent had at least one new resident death last week.
Statewide mask use was still recommended in the report to prevent unnecessary virus transmission. The report also recommended maintaining community testing at the levels the state saw in July to help identify cases and intervene in transmission.
