ST. LOUIS — Missouri set a new record Friday for patients hospitalized with COVID-19, as the number of cases and deaths continued to rise.
There were 2,862 patients hospitalized statewide, eclipsing the previous record of 2,851 on Nov. 18. Hospitalizations have remained high in the past month.
Missouri recorded 2,076 new cases of COVID-19 on Christmas, a decline from 3,231 on Thursday, for a cumulative total of 378,887 since the start of the pandemic. The state also recorded 14 additional deaths, for a total of 5,308.
On average, the state is reporting 2,651 new cases each day, down from a peak of 4,723 on Nov. 20, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis.
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Meanwhile, St. Louis County, the state’s largest county, reported 490 new cases, bringing the year-to-date total to 66,284, and 10 more deaths, for a total of 1,334.
Illinois on Friday reported 5,742 new cases, bringing the statewide year-to-date total to 930,849. The state also recorded 156 deaths, bringing the death toll to 15,799.
The seven-day case average is 6,292, down from a peak of 12,722 on Nov. 12.
A number of local governments, as well as the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, did not report new data because of the Christmas holiday.
In the Metro East, St. Clair County officials said updated numbers from the state showed that the regional positivity rate rose to 11.7%, for an area encompassing seven Illinois counties in the vicinity. In that region, Monroe County had the highest rates of positivity for the virus at 16.3%, while Washington County testing reflected a 15.5% positivity rate.
With the virus present at such elevated levels, county officials urged residents to practice the behaviors like diligent mask-wearing, hand-washing, and social distancing that have been emphasized throughout the pandemic, for the past 287 days.
“It is here, it is spread in the community, and we’ve got to make sure that that spread slows,” . “Our fates are in our own hands, and really, it’s not difficult to wear that mask.”
“Being smart is the best way to say it,” added Herb Simmons, the director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency. “We all need to be part of that solution.”
COVID-19 in Missouri and Illinois: By the numbers
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation. That date's data has been removed from this display.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number. That date's data has been removed from this display.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
NOTE: On Oct. 11, Missouri announced that a database error had resulted in an “incorrect inflation” of cases in its Oct. 10 report
Note from St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force: The data includes patients at BJC HealthCare, SSM Health and St. Luke's Hospital. As of Jan. 17, 2022, the data includes patients at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System.
Note from Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: Note: Due to an abrupt change in data measures and the reporting platform issued by the White House on Monday, July 13, and effective Wednesday, July 15, Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) and the State of Missouri were unable to access hospitalization data during the transition. .
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) began counting probable death along with confirmed deaths.
