More than 5K new COVID-19 cases in Missouri sets record

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ST. LOUIS (AP) – Missouri reported more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday to set a single-day record.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said there have been a total of 144,230 confirmed cases since the outbreak started, up 5,066 cases from Friday. The state also reported 27 more deaths to bring the total to 2,422.

Data from the state shows that 1,313 people were hospitalized as of Friday, the second-most for any single day. The rise in hospitalizations is occurring largely in Missouri’s rural communities.

“People aren’t following the rules,” Jayne Dees, administrator of the health department in New Madrid County in the Bootheel region of southeast Missouri, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “They’re not social distancing. They’re not wearing masks. They’re gathering.”

Dr. Nathan Sprengel, a doctor at the SEMO Health Network clinic in New Madrid, said some patients get upset when they are urged to wear masks in the clinic.

“That tells me they’re probably not wearing one when they’re out in public,” he said.

Meanwhile, an outbreak at the jail in St. Louis County has grown to include 20 inmates and one employee, officials announced Friday night. Mass testing is underway as the facility seeks to control the spread of the virus.

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