KSMU Coronavirus Coverage

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department is notifying the public of potential high-risk community exposures from at least four people who tested positive for COVID-19.

They worked at Showtime Joe’s, 2209 W. Sunshine St., over the course of several days, according to the health department, and both they and customers “were inconsistently” masked.

The COVID-19 positive employees worked on September 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 from 5 p.m. and 1 a.m.

Three more people have died of COVID-19 in Greene County.  The latest people to die of the illness were a man in his 40s, a woman in her 70s and a man in his 90s.  Two were associated with long-term care and all had underlying health conditions.

Nineteen people have died this month from COVID-19 in Greene County, and 49 have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

As of Wednesday morning, there were 5,128 cases of the illness in Greene County, and 2,025 of them were active.

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — Hospitalizations for the coronavirus have risen across Missouri in recent days. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that three of the four highest days for hospitalizations have occurred over the past week, based on data from the state health department. The most recent data shows 1,021 patients in hospitals with confirmed or presumed cases on Saturday, the second-highest day on record. The highest was Sept. 9, when 1,040 patients were hospitalized. The fourth-highest number of hospitalizations on record occurred Friday, with 1,008 patients.

Two more people have died in Greene County of COVID-19. The Springfield-Greene County Health Department reports the latest deaths were a man in his 70s and a man in his 80s.

That brings the number of deaths in Greene County in September to 16.  There have been 46 deaths since the pandemic began.

The number of cases topped 5000 Tuesday.  As of Tuesday morning, there were 5034 cases in Greene County, and 2067 of them were active.

There were 110 people in the hospital with COVID-19, and 30 of them were in the ICU.

There’s been another death from COVID-19 in Greene County.  According to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, the latest death was a man in his 70s with underlying health conditions.

Fourteen COVID-19 deaths have been reported by the Health Department in September. A total of 44 Greene County residents has died from COVID-19.  As of Sunday, Greene County had a total of 4,833 cases, and 2,296 of those were active.  View the Greene County COVID-19 Dashboard here.

COVID-19 has claimed four more lives in Greene County.  The Springfield-Greene County Health Department said the latest deaths were a woman in her 90s who was a resident of a long-term care facility; a woman in her 70s and two men—one in his 60s and the other in his 50s.  All had underlying health conditions.

Thirteen COVID-19 deaths have been reported by the health department this month.  A total of 43 Greene County residents have died of COVID-19.

Forty-year-old Marie Brumbaugh, a medical assistant at a CoxHealth clinic in the Branson area, has died of COVID-19. 

According to a news release from Cox, the source of the infection isn’t known with certainty.  But officials say there’s a possibility she may have contracted the virus while caring for a patient undergoing routine clinic care unrelated to COVID-19.  The patient needed to be unmasked for a short time during treatment and tested positive for the virus after the clinic visit.  But it’s possible, they say, that she acquired it in the community.

Two more Greene County residents have died of COVID-19.  The latest deaths were two men in their 90s.  One was a resident of a long-term care facility.

Nine people have died in Greene County from COVID-19 so far this month.  There have been a total of 39 deaths in the county from the illness.

As of Tuesday morning, Greene County had a total of 4,255 cases of COVID-19, and 2,046 of those were active.

Face coverings will be required for a few weeks longer in Branson.  The city’s board of aldermen voted at a meeting Tuesday to extend the mask mandate to October 14 at 11:59 p.m.

A few people spoke against the extension at Tuesday’s meeting, including Branson resident, Bill Large.

“My point is real simple.  If you choose to wear a mask, that’s your choice.  As an American, that’s your God-given right.  But it’s my God-given right as an American not to wear one if I choose not to,” Large said.

There was another death from COVID-19 in Greene County over the Labor Day weekend.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department said the latest death was a man in his 70s who was in a long-term care facility.

There have been seven COVID-19 deaths in the Greene County this month, and 37 people have died in the county, many in long-term care facilities, since the pandemic began.

As of Monday morning, Greene County had recorded 4,193 cases of COVID-19, and 2,107 of those were active.  Eighty-eight people were hospitalized with the illness, and 18 were in the ICU.

Bolivar High School has moved to virtual learning until September 11th.  According to district officials, the move was made “in light of the current health environment at Bolivar High School.”

On the district's website, school officials say they’re seeing “many students impacted by the rise in COVID cases at BHS.”

Another resident of a long-term care facility in Greene County has died of COVID-19, according to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.  The latest death was a woman in her 90s.  So far this month, six COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the county—five associated with nursing homes. 

In August, there were 19 COVID-19 deaths in Greene County, many associated with long-term care facilities.

Greene County has recorded 3,670 COVID-19 cases to date—1,731 of those are active.

Springfield-Greene County Health Department director, Clay Goddard, said 36 percent of COVID-19 cases in the county in August were 18 to 22-year-olds.  In the last week, 58 percent of COVID-19 cases were in that age group.

He told Springfield City Council Tuesday that’s not surprising.