Jennifer Moore

Greene County health officials on Friday said two recent inviduals who tested positive for COVID-19 visited public places, potentially exposing others to the novel coronavirus that causes the disease.

Springfield-Greene County Health Department director Clay Goddard said while the risk to individuals who were at these locations remains low, they should monitor their health for symptoms:

In its first round of grants to nonprofit agencies affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks awarded nearly $100,000 on Friday.

The grants are targeted toward agencies serving the region’s most vulnerable citizens throughout the CFO’s 58-county service region, according to a news release from CFO. 

Since public gatherings of 10 or more people are banned in Missouri, many nonprofits have had to cancel fundraisers—while at the same time increasing their services to those in need.

The Greene County Commission will close the county’s historic courthouse to the public for 30 days beginning Monday, April 6, according to a news release.

The decision was made to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

The offices in the courthouse will continue to function by phone, fax, email or limited appointments.  Citizens who need to cast an absentee vote for the upcoming June 2 election can call the County Clerk’s office to arrange for access through the building’s east side door, facing Robberson Avenue.

  What do you do during a stay-at-home order if you don't have a home to go to?  In Springfield, Victory Mission offers emergency shelter for homeless men. And as the coronavirus transforms life in Greene County, it and other shelters are getting creative as they try to stay open and safe. This is the story of one local homeless man navigating that process.

For Eric West, things were finally starting to look up a few weeks ago.  He had a new job as a cook at a Springfield hotel and he was even able to put some money away for savings, he said.

Springfield-based humanitarian relief organization Convoy of Hope is known for its large-scale operations.  For example, it sent out 60 tractor trailers of mostly food and paper products across the United States last week alone in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But the charity is also remembering rural towns closer to home, too.

Carl Long is a pastor and the mayor of Humansville, Missouri, in Polk County.

It's been nearly three weeks since Greene County, Missouri reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case.  As of Tuesday, health officials have confirmed 50 positive cases in the county.

Springfield-Greene County Health Department Director Clay Goddard told Springfield City Council Tuesday in analyzing the county's cases on a time series graph—graphing the positive cases based on the date of the onset of symptoms—he can see that the increase in daily confirmed cases remains a relatively straight line. 

Starting on Wednesday, a Springfield lab plans to offer testing of COVID-19 for patients referred by their health care providers. Officials hope this will lessen the wait times for test results and slow the spread of the illness.

The private lab, Dynamic DNA Laboratories, confirmed with KSMU is has 4,000 test kits to distribute, and it’s already ordered 4,000 more kits.

Austin O’Reilly is the CEO of Dynamic DNA, and he spoke at a virtual press conference Tuesday in Springfield.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 inside a Springfield assisted living facility has jumped to eight, a Springfield-Greene County Health Department official said Friday.

Among those cases is a resident who died before the outbreak was discovered in the facility; she was not tested, but her case is considered an epidemiologically-linked case, according to the health department's assistant director, Katie Towns. 

Governor Mike Parson said Thursday if he could prioritize the testing of all residents in nursing homes where there’s been a coronavirus outbreak, he would – but he says he cannot due to a shortage of tests. 

Parson was responding to a question from KSMU-Ozarks Public Radio about state protocol that currently says only those residents with COVID-19 symptoms will be tested, even in facilities where the coronavirus has been confirmed.

Update 1:00 p.m. Thursday, March 26:   a fifth resident at the assisted living facility has tested positive for COVID-19 and is in the hospital, according to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.

After four people tested positive for COVID-19 at a Springfield assisted living facility—three of whom have since died—state and local officials are investigating the cases in an effort to prevent the spread within that facility. 

As hospitals in Italy and other hard-hit places say they've run out of space for COVID-19 patients, Cox South hospital in Springfield announced Wednesday that it's devoting an entire, new floor to patients who  may need ventilator support due to the respiratory illness.

Greene County has ordered its citizens to stay at home for 30 days, except for essential activities. Violations of the order will be considered a misdemeanor.

This comes as local hospital executives and doctors warn that Springfield’s hospitals could be overrun with cases of COVID-19 if they don’t take these extraordinary measures now.

Update 7:00 p.m. Monday, March 23:   Springfield and Greene County officials have confirmed that one person from the assisted living facility mentioned in this story has died from COVID-19.

Four cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in a Springfield assisted care facility, local health officials announced Monday. The assisted living facility is Morningside of Springfield East, according to Springfield-Greene County Health Department Director, Clay Goddard.

Kids across the Springfield Public Schools district can pick up free meals from local schools Monday to Friday, starting Monday, March 23.  Those free, "grab-and-go" meals are for SPS kids ages 18 and younger, and they're available for curbside pickup at every school in the district between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Click here for a list of SPS schools and their addresses.