Missouri health department reports 114 previously undisclosed COVID-19 deaths
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on Monday added 114 more COVID-19 deaths to its official tally, reporting for the first time deaths that had not been previously disclosed dating back as early as August.
The Bureau of Vital Records, a division of the health agency, routinely examines death certificates for fatal cases not reported to state officials. The COVID-19 deaths diagnosed through this method will be reflected on Tuesday in the state’s public health dashboard dedicated to tracking the coronavirus, according to a press release from DHSS.
Most of the newly reported deaths occurred within the past seven weeks. Fifty-one were from November, and December added 52. The others spanned August, September and October.
The death toll for Missouri now stands at 12,957 since the pandemic began. There have been 51 million cases and nearly 808,000 deaths across the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Cases of COVID-19 have been resurging recently since the omicron strain, a highly contagious variant, has made its way to the U.S. Area health officials have begun seeing the variant in local infections recently, and many are warning of another wave this holiday season as many Americans prepare to travel and spend time face-to-face with family.
Health officials have also stepped up efforts lately to encourage booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine. But many across the metropolitan area have yet to even become fully vaccinated, and physicians only recommend getting a booster shot six months after inoculation.
As omicron has become the dominant strain in many parts of the country, the variant’s first confirmed cases were only reported in the Kansas City area on Monday. It was found in two Wyandotte County residents who were fully vaccinated, health officials announced.
As of last Tuesday, the Kansas City metropolitan area — which includes Jackson, Platte, Clay, Johnson and Wyandotte counties — continued to see a rising average of weekly confirmed cases. The average for the week was about 748 per day, higher than the previous week’s of 732 and the five weeks prior to that.
