Greene County sees COVID-19 uptick, at medium impact level heading into July 4 weekend
An increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations has bumped up the COVID-19 community level to medium for Greene County, according to a press release from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.
In the past week, the health department has seen a 10% increase in the seven-day case average. Greene County hospitals also have 56 people hospitalized as of Thursday afternoon, and 4 people in critical care.
Mercy Hospital Springfield currently has 32 COVID-19 positive cases, one person in ICU and none on ventilators.
"We're seeing increased cases, not only in clinics, and our outpatients, but we're also starting to see some increase of cases in the hospital. Not as many people are on ventilators in the past with other strains, but still, (we have) patients requiring hospitalization, and those are on the rise," said Dr. Will Sistrunk, infectious disease doctor with Mercy Hospital Springfield.
More: Kids younger than 5 can now receive COVID-19 vaccines in Springfield
CoxHealth has seen a decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations from last week.
“At CoxHealth, our COVID-19 hospitalizations are down from last week. As of Friday morning, we have 35 hospitalized patients, with 24 currently infectious," said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sean Usery. "We are not seeing as many severely ill patients as we saw during earlier phases of the pandemic. We continue to see positive tests in the lab and we know there are more positives in the community that we don’t see, due to at-home testing.”
The health department is advising people to host outdoor gatherings to reduce the spread of COVID-19, to get tested and to stay home if they're feeling sick this weekend.
Those who think they may have COVID-19 can visit COVIDtesting417.com to find testing opportunities and pharmacies that carry at-home tests.
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With Greene County at a medium COVID-19 community level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending that people wear a face mask indoors if they are at high risk for severe illness or in frequent contact with a high-risk person, get tested if they are exposed or have COVID-19 symptoms and to stay up-to-date on vaccines and boosters.
People older than 5 years old who need a COVID-19 vaccination or booster dose can visit vaccine417.com or call 417-874-1211 for walk-in and appointment opportunities.
Susan Szuch is the health and public policy reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Health dept: COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations increasing
