ST. LOUIS COUNTY — County Executive Sam Page said on Monday that a dip in COVID-19 infections may lead him to allow indoor dining in restaurants next month, even as he — and hospital officials — warned that case numbers and hospitalizations were too high for a full reopening.
Area officials acknowledged on Monday that the growth of coronavirus cases locally has flattened over the past few weeks, but said new daily caseloads are still at levels far higher than in the spring or summer. They called on residents to take care to prevent the spread of the virus over the next few weeks, especially over winter holidays.
Page said he intends to announce details of a limited reopening next week, which will include precautions for restaurants to follow when they resume indoor service. He said the county health department has been working with a group of restaurant advisers. If the county’s daily new cases remain stable, some form of indoor dining could return in early January.
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“When I announced the ‘safer at home’ order, which includes a ban on indoor restaurant dining, I promised that we would closely monitor the numbers, and make appropriate adjustments moving forward,†Page said.
St. Louis County bars and restaurants have been limited to outdoor dining and carryout since the county entered a “safer at home†order on Nov. 17. At that point, the county was adding, on average, 804 new cases each day — up from 140 at the beginning of October.
As of Monday, the daily new case average was 534.
Residents’ willingness to follow public health protocols has stopped the exponential rise seen earlier in the fall, Page said. And he is hopeful for the future, with the first COVID-19 vaccines now in distribution.
“But with that hope, we must continue our vigilance,†he added. “Our hospitals are packed, and the virus continues to quickly spread throughout the community. Wide access to the vaccine remains months away.â€
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson similarly said Monday that the growth in infections, though slightly lower than November, is “still way too high.â€
Residents should celebrate the holidays with only those in their own household, she said, and should under no circumstances gather in groups of more than 10 people.
“We just are fearful that we will see another rise in number of cases — which will mean a rise in hospitalizations, which will mean a rise in deaths — after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays,†Krewson said.
Dr. Alex Garza, who leads the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, said Monday that a post-Christmas surge would put even more stress on health systems and their employees.
The task force reported 87 new COVID-19 patients admitted to area hospitals, down by seven, and a seven-day new-admissions average of 109, down by two. The seven-day average of newly admitted COVID-19 patients has been over 100 — a very high level, Garza said — since Nov. 12.
“We will win this war, but we won’t win it this week. Not for months,†Garza said during a briefing.
The task force reported a total of 873 virus patients across area BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Luke’s Hospital facilities — up from 847 the day before, but lower than the 925 peak at the start of December. Task force data lags two days.
St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield received its first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday. The system received 1,950 doses, and expects more to arrive next week. A handful of employees were vaccinated Monday, with plans to administer larger numbers of vaccinations on Tuesday.
BJC, SSM and Mercy together vaccinated thousands last week, and continue to this week.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 3,130 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, up from 2,072 the day before. The seven-day average of new cases was 2,959, down from a peak of 4,723 on Nov. 20, but still higher than any number seen before November, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis.
The state also reported 10 more deaths, bringing the seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 deaths to a record high of 62.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 4,699 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, down from 6,003 the day before, and far lower than the 12,700 mid-November crest. Illinois also added 98 more deaths, less than the state’s current daily average of 129.
Editor's note: The story has been updated with the correct number of COVID-19 vaccine doses St. Luke's Hospital received on Monday.
DINING DECLINE: Stunned by the closure of the Missouri Bar & Grille, a beloved newspaper hangout, Jim Gallagher and David Nicklaus look at how COVID-19 has hurt the restaurant industry. Nationally, one in six restaurants have closed this year.
These maps and charts show the spread of COVID-19 in Missouri and Illinois.
Annika Merrilees • 314-340-8528 @annie3mer on Twitter amerrilees@post-dispatch.com
