State, county see significant uptick in COVID cases
January 5, 2022
Sheila Harris
Positive cases of COVID-19 are again on the rise in the county and state as the Omicron variant sweeps the nation after the Christmas holiday weekend.
Although the county’s official numbers were not available at press time, Barry County Health Department administrator Roger Brock said that Monday alone saw 55 new positive test results at his offices.
Barry County E911 director Mike Phillips reported that ambulance transports to hospitals have also risen sharply.
“Most of the transports are COVID-related,” he said.
Statewide, the dashboard for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) reported, on January 4, after PCR tests were administered, an increase of 38,685 new confirmed cases of COVID for the past seven-day period. The numbers represented an average of 5,526 cases per day. An additional probable 9,768 cases were reported after the administration of antigen tests.
Twenty-one people in Missouri died over the same seven-day period as a result of COVID-19, with cases confirmed by positive PCR tests.
An average of 20,661 new PCR tests, per day, were administered statewide over the seven-day counting period prior to January 4. An average of 10,830 new antigen tests were administered, per day, for the same seven-day period.
The positivity rate for the PCR tests was 28 percent; the antigen tests’ positivity rate was 15.1 percent.
As of January 2, 2,734 COVID patients were hospitalized, 606 were in ICU, and 349 were on ventilators.
According to a morning report in The New York Times, the symptoms of the Omicron variant appear to be milder than those of the Delta variant; however, because it is more easily transmissible, the explosion of cases across the U.S. is taxing healthcare systems.
Steve Edwards, CEO and president of CoxHealth, said hospitalizations had spiked Thursday by nearly 75 percent over the number nine days prior. He’s concerned about having enough staff to handle an increasing amount of patients.
Mercy Springfield reported a 24 percent increase in hospitalized patients over the same nine-day period.
Free testing kits for COVID-19 are available from the DHSS, although, due to high demand, they are becoming scarce. There is a temporary pause on orders to update system accessibility. Ordering is scheduled to reopen Thursday, Jan. 6. In order to improve the ordering system and allow contractors to continue shipping kits in a timely manner, DHSS will make a limited supply available each day through January.
Because of the increased demand and limited test kit shelf-life, DHSS requests Missourians only submit requests for immediate testing needs.
The DHSS says that testing provides information regarding the presence of the virus at a specific point in time and if it’s taken too early or too late, could provide a false sense of security due to lower levels of viral load.
View testing options at health.mo.gov/communitytest or check with your local healthcare provider or public health department.
Positive cases of COVID-19 are again on the rise in the county and state as the Omicron variant sweeps the nation after the Christmas holiday weekend.
Although the county’s official numbers were not available at press time, Barry County Health Department administrator Roger Brock said that Monday alone saw 55 new positive test results at his offices.
Barry County E911 director Mike Phillips reported that ambulance transports to hospitals have also risen sharply.
“Most of the transports are COVID-related,” he said.
Statewide, the dashboard for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) reported, on January 4, after PCR tests were administered, an increase of 38,685 new confirmed cases of COVID for the past seven-day period. The numbers represented an average of 5,526 cases per day. An additional probable 9,768 cases were reported after the administration of antigen tests.
Twenty-one people in Missouri died over the same seven-day period as a result of COVID-19, with cases confirmed by positive PCR tests.
An average of 20,661 new PCR tests, per day, were administered statewide over the seven-day counting period prior to January 4. An average of 10,830 new antigen tests were administered, per day, for the same seven-day period.
The positivity rate for the PCR tests was 28 percent; the antigen tests’ positivity rate was 15.1 percent.
As of January 2, 2,734 COVID patients were hospitalized, 606 were in ICU, and 349 were on ventilators.
According to a morning report in The New York Times, the symptoms of the Omicron variant appear to be milder than those of the Delta variant; however, because it is more easily transmissible, the explosion of cases across the U.S. is taxing healthcare systems.
Steve Edwards, CEO and president of CoxHealth, said hospitalizations had spiked Thursday by nearly 75 percent over the number nine days prior. He’s concerned about having enough staff to handle an increasing amount of patients.
Mercy Springfield reported a 24 percent increase in hospitalized patients over the same nine-day period.
Free testing kits for COVID-19 are available from the DHSS, although, due to high demand, they are becoming scarce. There is a temporary pause on orders to update system accessibility. Ordering is scheduled to reopen Thursday, Jan. 6. In order to improve the ordering system and allow contractors to continue shipping kits in a timely manner, DHSS will make a limited supply available each day through January.
Because of the increased demand and limited test kit shelf-life, DHSS requests Missourians only submit requests for immediate testing needs.
The DHSS says that testing provides information regarding the presence of the virus at a specific point in time and if it’s taken too early or too late, could provide a false sense of security due to lower levels of viral load.
View testing options at health.mo.gov/communitytest or check with your local healthcare provider or public health department.
