Missouri sees 25% jump in coronavirus cases for second consecutive day
Missouri health officials reported a 25% jump in confirmed COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row.
Officials confirmed 168 new cases of the virus Saturday, bringing the state’s total to 838.
More than 10,700 people had been tested for the virus by Saturday morning, about 7.7% of those tests were positive.
The state health department gave The Star the number of tests completed Saturday morning after officials initially told The Star the data wasn’t available earlier in the week.
Ten people in the state have died from the virus. The most recent was reported in St. Charles County on Friday.
The number of cases in Missouri has climbed steeply in the past week. On Monday, the figure surpassed 100 cases. By Wednesday, 356 cases had been identified and by Friday, there were 670 cases.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced Saturday that COVID-19 tests for healthcare workers and first responders would be expedited ahead of other cases.
The Star’s Jason Hancock contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 28, 2020 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Missouri sees 25% jump in coronavirus cases for second consecutive day."
