ST. LOUIS — Although the rolling average for new daily coronavirus cases in Missouri dipped for the fifth day straight Tuesday, hospitals in the St. Louis area were reporting increases in new COVID-19 patients matching averages last seen in early May. Â
Missouri's seven-day average of new cases fell to 1,322 Tuesday, down from the state's peak last Thursday of 1,591.Â
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.
State health officials added 11 new deaths to the toll of 1,266 lives lost since the start of the pandemic.
There are now more than 54,000 cases of COVID-19 in the state.
But while state case counts were improving, the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported a surge in hospital admissions Tuesday.Â
The St. Louis region's large hospital systems reported 55 new daily admissions, according to the task force, which is a coalition of BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Luke’s Hospital.Â
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The admissions data lags two days to get complete figures, but the data released Tuesday marks the second time admissions topped 50 within a week. Those admissions brought the seven-day rolling average up to 44, the highest in the region since May 3.
That average peaked at 58 on April 10, before falling to around 14 in late June. The number then steadily climbed through July.Â
Dr. Alex Garza, head of the task force, has said that hospitalizations are a lagging indicator of the spread of the virus in a community, with admissions often representing the spread of the virus from weeks prior. Â
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.
Garza said in a news conference Monday that the region is projected to return its previous April peak in hospitalizations by September if current rates of spread continue.Â
These maps and charts show the spread of COVID-19 in Missouri and Illinois.
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) 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 from Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: The discrepancy in the number of deaths on July 19, 2020, was
Erin Heffernan
Courts reporter
