Missouri ranked 10th for case rate in U.S., White House report says
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
An August White House report listed Missouri in the tenth spot for COVID-19 case rates in the country, giving the state "red zone" status.
States qualify in the red zone if there are more than 100 cases per 100,000 people for a week. The Aug. 30 report said Missouri had 131 cases for every 100,000 people the week before. The national average that week was 88 cases.
The report also breaks down the cities and counties in the red zone. In mid-Missouri, those counties include Boone, Camden, Gasconade, Howard, Miller, Monroe and Saline.
Boone County had the third highest case rate in the state with Columbia ranking second for highest case rate among metro areas across the state.
"Rural and urban counties in Missouri continue to have increases in cases and test positivity," the report said. "Common sense preventive measures must be implemented to stop further spread."
The report listed some "common sense preventive measures" including limiting social gathering to 10 people or fewer in red zone areas, each person reducing their public interactions to 25 percent of their normal and closing down gyms and bars.
For university towns, like Columbia, the report recommended diagnostic testing for all returning students and routine surveillance testing to identify any potential outbreaks.
