Missouri has 19 new COVID-19 deaths, and almost 300 new positive cases
Nineteen more Missourians have died from COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 133, according to numbers released Tuesday by state health officials.
That’s an increase of about 16.7%.
At least 4,686 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, an increase of 298 cases since Monday.
COVID-19 is killing black Missourians at a disproportionate rate, the Associated Press reported. Of the 19 deaths in St. Louis, 16 were black, one white and one Hispanic. One person’s race is not known. In St. Louis County, blacks accounted for 20 of the 42 deaths.
Of Kansas City’s first eight deaths, the city reported five black residents died, two whites and one was defined as other.
Statewide, about 38% of the patients who died were white, about 28% were black, and race was not known in 29% of cases. According to 2010 census data, Missouri’s population was about 83% white and 12% black.
Of the confirmed cases, 589 patients have been hospitalized, an increase of 18 people over the last 24 hours, according to data from the Missouri Hospital Association.
As of Tuesday, 452 hospitalized patients are under investigation for COVID-19.
Dozens of Missouri hospitals are also reporting critical shortages of personal protective equipment, including N95 masks and surgical gowns. Hospitals still have thousands of medical surgical beds and several hundred intensive care unit beds available as the cases are expected to peak this weekend.
The five regions hardest hit by the coronavirus in Missouri include St. Louis County, which had 1,851 positive cases; St. Louis with 695, St. Charles County with 368, Kansas City with 346 and Jackson County with 237 cases.
The number of cases in Kansas City increased by 17 and the number of cases in Jackson County increased by 14.
St. Louis County also has the highest number of deaths at 53, which is up by 11 from Monday’s total. St. Louis has seen 19 deaths.
Kansas City has reported 11 deaths of the coronavirus, followed by St. Charles County with 10. Greene County has reported seven deaths. Cass County reported four deaths and Franklin County reported three.
Bates, Boone, Buchanan, Callaway, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Clay, Cole, Henry, Lafayette, Lincoln, Linn, Pulaski, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Taney each report one death.
The largest number of deaths is among those 80 and older, accounting for 49 of the state’s total deaths. That is an increase of eight from Monday. That age group is followed by those in their 70s with 39 deaths, and those in their 60s, with 24 deaths. Of those in their 50s, 14 have died.
In Kansas, at least 1,426 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, with 69 COVID-19 related deaths.
Nationally, there have been at least 598,670 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S., and more than 25,239 people have died, according statistics from Johns Hopkins University.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
