Fifty-four children and 964 adults have been hospitalized with COVID-19 – numbers the Saint-Louis area has never seen before, the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force reported today.
The figures come from the four main hospitals in the region: BJC Healthcare, St. Luke’s Hospital, Mercy and SSM Health. The numbers reported today represent the results since December 31, 2021 and have increased from the December 30, 2021 numbers: daily hospitalizations were 735 and 26 children were hospitalized at the time of the last report. A seven-day moving average currently stands at 808 inpatients, while the latest report had it at 645. The previous record for COVID-19 hospitalizations was on December 1, 2020 with 962 patients.
In a press conference this morningSt. Louis County executive Sam Page called the number of cases and positivity rate “the worst we’ve ever been.”
“I don’t think it’s getting any better in a week or two, and I don’t think anyone in public health or the healthcare system expects it to get better anytime soon.” , Page said at the conference. “We have a problem.”
Page added that the county sees more than 1,500 cases a day and said healthcare workers were exhausted and disappointed. The numbers come right after Governor Mike Parson announced he would not renew COVID-19 state of emergencyy, as well as the city of St. Louis reporting a “staggering” increase in cases last week.
Page said he supported a county council decision to re-require masks for its residents; City Councilor Lisa Clancy, District D-5, requested a hearing on COVID-19 mitigation strategies last week.
I hear more and more locals asking for a masking warrant and also an emergency meeting on this latest wave. Here is the letter that I sent yesterday to the Chair and to my colleagues. There was no response. https://t.co/RhG3GnYJ1C pic.twitter.com/zrfxQkoLQQ
– Lisa Clancy (@lisadclancy) December 31, 2021
Restrictions, such as stops or distance learning, are not taken into account at this time, per page. However, he said COVID is already affecting the economy due to business closures due to employee illness or lack of staff to operate. The county executive ended its press conference by asking residents of St. Louis County to continue to be vaccinated, wear masks and avoid large gatherings.
“It’s a simple way to work together to control the virus,” Page said. “Otherwise, this ‘normal’ we all aspire to is nowhere in sight.”
If you need to get tested, St. Charles Family Arena has opened a new drive-thru site for COVID-19 PCR testing. Visit revivestl.com for vaccine information, as well as additional testing sites.
Follow Jenna on Twitter at @writesjenna. Email the author at [email protected]
