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COVID-19 cases among Greene County kids jumped significantly in January

Springfield-Greene County Health Department
Michele Skalicky
Springfield-Greene County Health Department

More than 3 dozen Greene County adults died of the illness last month.

Cases of COVID-19 in kids five to 17-years-old in Greene County increased almost 300 percent in January, and the Springfield-Greene County Health Department is encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated.

In January, 1,917 kids in that age group tested positive for COVID-19 compared to 494 in December, according to the health department.

Kids zero to four-years-old surpassed 500 cases for the first time in January.

And 37 Greene County residents died of COVID-19 last month. They include a man and woman in their 30s, five women and two man in their 40s, a woman and four men in their 50s, seven men and two women in their 60s, four women and seven men in their 70s, a man and woman in their 80s and a woman in her 90s.

Find out where to get a COVID-19 vaccine at vaccine417.com or call 417-874-1211.

Cases are dropping, but there’s still a high number of people hospitalized in Springfield due to COVID-19. As of January 31, there were 236 people at CoxHealth and Mercy.