Second confirmed coronavirus case in Jackson County brings Missouri total to 16
A second person in eastern Jackson County has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the number of confirmed cases in Missouri to 16.
The man, who is in his 40s, recently traveled internationally, the Jackson County Health Department said late Tuesday. Isolated at home, he is doing well and his family is in quarantine, the department said.
Health officials were working to identify anyone who had come in close contact with him.
“We ask that you continue to follow the recommended prevention measures, such as washing your hands, practicing social distancing and covering your cough or sneeze,” the department’s director, Bridgette Shaffer, said in a statement. “Additionally, if you are ill, stay home.”
Earlier Tuesday, Gov. Mike Parson said there had been four confirmed cases in Greene County, four in St. Louis County, two in Cass County, one in St. Louis city and one each in Boone, Cole, Henry and Jackson counties.
The other patient in Jackson County is a woman in her 80s. She had not recently traveled and tested positive through a private lab.
Another case in the Kansas City region was confirmed Monday: a Drexel man in self-isolation in Cass County.
Of the nearly 270 people tested for the COVID-19 virus in Missouri, more than 250 results have come back negative, Parson said.
By Tuesday night, 18 cases of the disease had been identified across the state line in Kansas, where Gov. Laura Kelly ordered the state’s K-12 schools to close for the rest of the academic year.
Nationwide, more than 5,800 cases were confirmed and 97 deaths had been reported by Tuesday afternoon, according to a database maintained by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there were more than 196,000 cases and 7,893 deaths.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 9:27 PM.
