ST. LOUIS — The number of people infected and killed by COVID-19 in Missouri and Illinois continued to climb Sunday, with both states reporting a steady increase in average daily infections in December.
ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ on Sunday reported at least 3,876 people newly infected by COVID-19 in a single day, down from 5,001 reported Saturday, according to the Department of Health and Senior Services.
But the average number of people infected by the virus each day climbed to 3,766 on Sunday, up from 3,668 a day earlier. The seven-day average, which clarifies trends in cases while minimizing effects of daily fluctuations, has steadily increased since Dec. 3, when it was 3,157.
And the state’s 5,001 coronavirus cases reported Saturday was the highest number since Nov. 17 when Missouri recorded 5,717 positive cases. Officials warned at the beginning of the week that declines in virus numbers could be an anomaly as infections from Thanksgiving gatherings take hold.
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Missouri also reported 11 new deaths due to COVID-19 Sunday. The virus has killed 4,181 people and infected 322,298 in Missouri since the pandemic began.
Meanwhile, an average of 2,678 people were hospitalized for the virus in Missouri as of Dec. 3, according to the latest available data, and the percentage of available hospital beds in the state was 20%, among the lowest since the start of the pandemic.
In Illinois, health officials reported nearly 7,598 new cases statewide on Sunday, bringing the state’s rolling seven-day average of new cases to 9,637, up from 9,577 a day earlier.
Rural Clinton County, on the edge of the St. Louis metro area, has the highest infection rate in Illinois, with nearly one infection for every 10 of its 38,000 residents.
The state reported an additional 76 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 13,255. A total 787,573 people have been infected since the pandemic’s start.
In the St. Louis area, the average number of people hospitalized each day with COVID-19 dropped to 117 Sunday from 119 Saturday, continuing a slight dip after a surge in cases in November pushed the average to all time high of 144 on Nov. 17.
But the average reported Sunday is more than double the highest rate of hospitalizations before the November surge.
The average number of people requiring hospital care for COVID-19 decreased to 912 on Sunday, down from 920 a day earlier. That number represented a dip since a record 1,061 average daily hospitalizations Nov. 10, but was more than three times the Oct. 4 average of 302 daily hospitalizations, the last time the number dipped below 400.
Health officials have repeatedly warned in recent weeks that hospitals were close to running short on staff as they were put under serious strain by rising COVID-19 cases.
On Sunday, about 79% of beds across St. Louis-area hospitals were occupied by patients, and 89 percent of beds in intensive care units were occupied.
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