Virus numbers appear to be trending in good direction

COVID-19 case numbers have slowed somewhat in Southeast Missouri and across the state, and several indicators are moving in the right direction.

According to the state Department of Health and Senior Services, new cases of the virus dropped 27.2% in the latest seven-day average, compared to the previous seven-day average.

In Cape Girardeau County, new cases have slowed significantly. From Sept. 1 to Oct. 1, virus cases in the county doubled. From Oct. 1 to Nov. 1, cases grew 52%; Nov. 1 to Dec. 1, 86%; and Dec. 1 to Jan. 1, 36%. But from Jan. 2 to Monday, new cases grew only 11%.

Other metrics officials use to track the virus deal with hospital bed, intensive-care unit bed and ventilator availability. In Cape Girardeau County, according to the county Public Health Center, medical bed availability was 44% Nov. 1, 30% Dec. 1, 44% Jan. 1 and 22% Jan. 25. ICU bed availability was 25% Dec. 1 but rose to 34% Jan. 1 and stood at 37% Jan. 25. Ventilator availabiity also rose in the county over that period: 25% Dec. 1, 38% Jan. 1 and 38% Jan. 25.

For the southeast region of the state, the latest data show 23% bed availability, 39% ICU bed availability and 68% ventilator availability. Those categories rose through the fall and peaked in November and December. Patients hospitalized with the virus hit a high of 184 Nov. 20, but that number has been cut in half, and as of Jan. 21, only 75 patients in the region were hospitalized. Hospital bed availability hit a low of 11% in November but has doubled since then. ICU bed availability was lowest in the region in December, 27%.

Vaccine dashboard

Gov. Mke Parson announced Tuesday evening a new vaccination dashboard that will track COVID-19 vaccinations in the state.

“We are excited to announce the launch of Missouri’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard. This dashboard will provide Missourians with the most up-to-date, Missouri-specific data available,” Parson said. “It is important that we provide this resource and be as transparent as possible, especially as some individuals tasked with reporting Missouri’s vaccine data often fail to report the complete picture.”

The interactive dashboard includes total doses administered and also distinguishes the number of individuals who have received one dose or both doses of the vaccine. Seven-day averages of doses administered are also included as well as demographic information on individuals who have received at least one dose. This information shows the shares of individual populations by age group, sex, race, and ethnicity. Additionally, those who live in Missouri and have received at least one dose are also captured in a county-level vaccination table. This shows how many residents have received a dose per reported county of residence. The vaccination dashboard was incorporated into the larger COVID-19 public health dashboard and is also available at MOStopsCovid.com.

Latest numbers

The latest available numbers for virus cases, active cases and deaths in area counties as of Wednesday were:

• Bollinger: 1,308 total cases, 45 active cases, 16 deaths.
• Cape Girardeau: 8,737 total cases, 1,175 active cases, 131 deaths.
• Perry: 2.300 total cases, 34 active cases, 32 deaths.
• Scott: 3,747 total cases, 467 active cases, 75 deaths.
• Stoddard: 2,935 total cases, 79 active cases, 61 deaths.
• Alexander (Illinois): 404 total cases, 29 active cases, five deaths.
• Union (Illinois): 1,995 total cases, 305 active cases, 25 deaths.

The Associated Press provided additional reporting for this story.