At least 502 people in Missouri have tested positive for COVID-19, a 41% jump in one day
An additional 146 people tested positive for the new coronavirus in Missouri, bringing the state’s total to at least 502 cases, according to statistics released Thursday afternoon by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
That was a 41% increase over the previous day, when the state reported 356 cases. Among those testing positive was a Kansas City firefighter.
Also on Thursday, in Kansas the statewide total of people testing positive for the virus increased to 169 when public health officials announced 42 more cases had been confirmed. Three people in Kansas have died from the disease.
In Missouri, eight people have died from COVID-19, according to state officials. Three of them were women whose ages ranged from the 70s to 90s and were residents of the Morningside of Springfield East assisted-living facility in Springfield, according to Greene County public health officials earlier this week.
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department said Thursday that a fifth person from Morningside has tested positive for the coronavirus. That patient and another resident of Morningside are hospitalized. Their conditions were not released.
A spokeswoman with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said the agency is working with the health department in Springfield on the epidemiological investigation of the facility.
The other deaths have been reported in the city of St. Louis as well as St. Louis, St. Charles, Boone and Jackson counties.
Of the COVID-19 statistics released Thursday, St. Louis County had the most cases with at least 173, followed by Kansas City with 64. The city of St. Louis had 57 cases, Jackson County had 31 and Boone and Greene counties each had 25.
Kansas City firefighter tests positive
A Kansas City firefighter who tested positive for the new coronavirus works on a fire truck, is currently in good condition and is recovering from the virus, said Assistant Fire Chief Jimmy Walker of the Kansas City Fire Department.
The department did not release the firefighter’s name.
The firefighter notified the department’s designated representative on March 20 that they felt ill, officials said. The firefighter was then tested for the disease and the test came back positive March 25.
The firefighter and seven other fire department personnel are currently in self-quarantine, Fire Chief Donna Maize said in a video update Thursday afternoon.
Maize said local health department officials don’t believe anyone else was in contact with the firefighter.
“KCFD has been planning for this COVID response for about six weeks,” Maize said, encouraging residents to continue following the city’s stay at home order.
“Help us protect our protectors by staying home, washing your hands, and if you have mild flu-like symptoms, call your primary care physician first.”
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 3:29 PM.
