ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page addressed the area’s recent COVID case spike Monday morning during a news conference.
Page said the number of COVID cases in the community is steadily rising and that health experts are raising a caution flag. At the same time, Page said the increase, at least at this point, is not a cause for alarm.
The most recent COVID case count showed St. Louis County averaging 273 new cases daily. That is a 30 percent increase from the same number just one week earlier. That increase caused St. Louis County to move up in the CDC’s measurement of community risk for COVID from low to medium risk. However, so far the rise in cases has not corresponded to a rise in the number of people hospitalized with COVID. Officials are carefully monitoring COVID hospitalizations because, in the past, as cases have increased hospitalizations have also increased. Moore said the latest data means residents’ risk of contracting COVID is higher than it was a week ago and substantially higher than it was a month ago.
Health officials urge people to get vaccinated if they haven’t already done so. Page said if you are 50 or older and it’s been several months since you’ve gotten your booster shot, then you should talk with your doctor about when it might be the right time to get a second booster. The county is still offering free vaccinations, booster shots, and COVID testing at all three of its health department clinics.