Pettis County added 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to 5,093, according to the Pettis County Health Center.
There are now 17 active cases and 4,998 residents have been released to normal activity. Four residents are now hospitalized seeking treatment for the virus.
According to the Pettis County COVID-19 Task Force briefing issued Monday, This is an increase of 31 cases in the past two weeks.
The positivity rate for April 8-14 was 5.54% with 17 new positives and 290 negatives and the cases per 100,000 is 40.15. The positivity rate for April 1-7 was 4.56% and the case rate was 33.07/100,000.
The briefing states the number of tests has decreased. Due to increasing COVID positive percentages, more testing is needed to identify a more complete picture of the spread of the virus in the community.
COVID-19 testing is available at the Bothwell Walk In Clinic located on the first floor of the Healing Arts Center. Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Katy Trail Community Health is doing community COVID testing daily at its Sedalia site. For more information, call 877-733-5824 or visit www.katytrailcommunityhealth.org.
According to the briefing, an important issue that has appeared this week is an increase in the amount of virus being found in one sewage treatment plant in Sedalia.
“The amount of virus particles found in sewage is a good predictor of the cases of disease in a community,” the briefing states. “The last large spike noted in sewage was on March 1 and there were 40 positive COVID cases that week. Although not completely predictive, this indicates the virus is still present in the community. The Health Center has received several communications about this issue from state officials, so there is concern.”
The county face covering rule will be discussed at the May 6 PCHC Board of Trustees meeting. The meeting will be available online and the link will be posted the week of the meeting.
All Missourians over the age of 16 are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Pettis County has now vaccinated approximately 26.6% of the population with at least one dose. According to the state website, 11,268 Pettis County residents have received one dose and 8,370 have completed the two-dose series, which means approximately 19.8% of the population is fully vaccinated.
The Pettis County Health Center will start having regular walk-in clinics on Tuesday, May 11 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. First doses will be available as well as second doses for those unable to make their second dose appointment. To register, call 660-827-1130, but appointments are not required.
OATS is providing transportation to vaccine clinics free of charge. To schedule transportation, call 1-800-276-6287.
On April 13, federal agencies called for an immediate pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose coronavirus vaccine due to severe adverse reactions in six women age 18 to 48 within six to 13 days of vaccination. As a result, all Bothwell Regional Health Center J&J vaccine clinics have been converted to Pfizer clinics. If the J&J vaccine is reinstated, Bothwell will follow guidelines for administration, which are expected next week.
Bothwell is hosting a Pfizer vaccine clinic from 8:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 21 at Bothwell Internal Medicine located on the second floor of the Healing Arts Center at 10th Street and Winchester Drive.
Pfizer booster-only appointments are happening April 22 and 23 at the MEC building on the Missouri State Fairgrounds.
Visit www.brhc.org/vaccine for the schedule of all upcoming vaccine clinics.
Katy Trail Community Health patients will be vaccinated by appointment at all locations. Community members may be vaccinated between 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday and are asked to register at covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator. Contact Katy Trail Community Health to request an appointment time.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported a seven-day total of 2,352 cases on Monday or an average of 336 per day. There were a total of 10 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Missouri during the last seven days, representing an average of one deaths per day. There were 277,614 vaccines administered in the last seven days in Missouri for an average of 39,659 per day.
