ST. LOUIS — In the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force's first briefing in more than a week, the leader of the task force said COVID-19 hospitalization numbers seem to be plateauing in the St. Louis area.
Dr. Alex Garza, the incident commander for the task force, said the seven-day average for new hospital admissions has been hovering around 40 for about the last month. Dr. Garza has said an average of 40 new admissions is right on the threshold of what the task force considers its 'red zone'.
Dr. Garza said rules in the area could make it difficult to get the number of new admissions lower.
"It may be difficult to get this number even lower without universal masking policies across the metropolitan area," he said. So, I would encourage all of you — even if you live in a jurisdiction that doesn't have a mandatory masking policy — to please wear a mask whenever you're out in public because really that's one of the few ways that we can consistently get those rates down significantly."
According to task force data, St. Louis City and Lincoln County reported a decrease in new cases when compared to the previous week, with all other jurisdictions remaining about the same or increasing. Jefferson and Warren counties reported the most significant week-over-week increase in cases on the Missouri side of the St. Louis area, while Bond and Clinton counties reported the largest week-over-week increase in Illinois.
The ZIP Codes that saw the most significant week-to-week change were:
- Festus: 63028
- Hillsboro: 63050
- Affton: 63123
Here are the hospital numbers from the task force Monday.
- New hospital admissions (data lagged two days) remained the same at 39* today.
- The seven-day moving average of hospital admissions (data lagged two days) increased – from 37 yesterday to 38 today.
- The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations decreased – from 257 yesterday to 256 today.
- Inpatient confirmed COVID positive hospitalizations increased – from 258 yesterday to 266 today.
- Inpatient suspected COVID positive hospitalizations increased – from 112 yesterday to 113 today.
- The number of confirmed COVID positive patients in the ICUs increased – from 59 yesterday to 67 today.
- The number of confirmed COVID positive patients on ventilators increased – from 36 yesterday to 39 today.
- Across the system hospitals, 24 COVID-19 patients were discharged yesterday, bringing the cumulative number of COVID-19 patients discharged to 4,837.
*The hospital admissions data for August 23 was adjusted to reflect 39 admissions from 37 admissions based on delayed test results. It does not affect the seven-day moving average
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 75,944 cases and 1,426 deaths Monday, an increase of 869 cases and no deaths.
Monday was the second time in August that the department reported zero new deaths in the state.
On Monday, the state reported a total of 919,712 polymerase chain reaction — or PCR — tests, a single-day increase of 4,879. On Monday, the state's overall positivity rate increased from 8.21% to 8.26%.
The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized statewide decreased by nearly 100 Monday, according to the department. On Monday, the state reported 863 COVID-19 hospitalizations, down from 957 on Sunday. The hospitalization numbers from the state are delayed 72 hours to improve accuracy, so the number reported Monday reflects hospitalizations on Aug. 21.
In St. Louis County, there were 103 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths Monday, bringing the totals in the county to 17,975 cases and 713 deaths.
In St. Louis, there were 44 newly reported COVID-19 cases and no new deaths Monday, bringing the totals in the city to 5,854 cases 184 deaths.
In St. Charles County, there were 77 new COVID-19 cases and one new death Monday, bringing the totals in the county to 5,296 cases and 106 deaths.
St. Charles County reports it's own case and death updates, which is why there were more new deaths reported in St. Charles County than the state reported Thursday.
In Jefferson County, there 55 newly reported cases and no new deaths Monday, bringing the totals to in the county to 2,324 cases and 40 deaths.
