Southwest Missouri is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, according to area health leaders. And the numbers back that up.
There have been more COVID-19 deaths in Greene County in September than all other months during the pandemic combined.
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department announced eight new deaths Thursday, bringing the month's death count to 37. There's been a total of 67 deaths so far in all.
Three of the latest deaths were not associated with long-term care: A woman in her 70s who had no underlying health conditions and a man and a woman in their 70s with underlying health conditions. The other five were women who were residents of long-term care facilities. Three were in their 80s, and two were in their 90s.
"We cannot lose sight of the people behind these numbers," said Springfield-Greene County Health Department director, Clay Goddard in a statement. "Each death notice is someone's mother, father, grandmother, grandfather or friend. People who had many healthy years ahead of them are dying and we must continue to do our part to protect each other."
He urges everyone to practice social distancing, wash their hands often, wear masks and stay home when they're sick.
As of 10 a.m. Thursday, there were 6,202 cases of COVID-19 in Greene County, and 2,321 of those were active. There were 136 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Springfield, and 30 of them were in the ICU. Greene County has seen a six percent increase in reported cases in the last seven days.
