TUESDAY UPDATES: State of Missouri profile reports shows new cases down over 35% compared to last week
The newest State Profile Report shows Missouri remains at a low transmission level of COVID-19. The report shows new cases are down by 35% compared to last week with 40 cases per 100,000 people.
The report shows Missouri had 2,444 new cases of COVID-19 for the week of April 22.
The report also indicates 100 residents died from the coronavirus, a 32% decrease from the previous week.
All Missouri counties are considered low community transmission except Shelby County which is considered a medium transmission county.
Over 77.1% of Missouri residents 18 years and old have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 65.5% are considered fully vaccinated.
According to the report, 74.1% of coronavirus cases were identified as the omicron variant.
According to the report, seven hospitals are dealing with supply shortages or six percent of all hospitals.
Cole County reports first COVID case since April 20
The Cole County Health Department reported one new coronavirus case on Monday.
According to the dashboard update, there are 17,055 residential cases and 331 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 17,386 total cases in the county since March 2020.
The county has reported 200 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports Cole County as having a low COVID-19 community level.
The Jefferson City School District reported no new coronavirus case in a student or in a staff member on Monday.
The district is reporting one active case in a student and no active case in a staff member.
St. Mary's removes most restrictions on visitors
SSM-St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City said Tuesday that it is removing most of its restrictions on visitors because of declining coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
Some restrictions remain in place. COVID-19 patients cannot have visitors except for special situations, intensive care patients are limited to three visitors at a time and those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult, the hospital said in a news release.
Visitors are required to wear masks.
“We feel comfortable relaxing visitor restrictions after having seen a consistent decline in both the number of hospitalizations due to the virus and a reduction in community prevalence over the past several weeks,” George Hayes, regional president of SSM Health in Mid-Missouri, said in a news release. “We will continue to monitor the rate of community transmission and make adjustments to these guidelines as needed.”
Cole County has consistently reported daily case numbers in the single digits this month, and hospitalization rates statewide have plunged since the winter's omicron peak.
