Fire department in Lemay quarantined after positive test

LEMAY, Mo. — All firefighters in a small fire district in south St. Louis County are quarantined at home as a precaution after a firefighter tested positive for COVID-19, a district official said Thursday.

The 27 firefighters and one administrative assistant in the Lemay Fire Protection District were sent home Wednesday, said Jerry Schloss, chairman of the board of directors for the fire district, which has only one fire house.

Fire districts from surrounding communities will handle 911 calls the Lemay district normally would have answered, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Jail officials in Greene County announced Thursday that 31 inmates and five jail staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

Greene County began testing after three inmates taken from the jail to Missouri prison tested positive for the virus. Greene County staff has tested 123 inmates out of the 746 inmates, and of those, 40 inmates remain in quarantine while awaiting results, the department said in a news release.

On Thursday, the state health department reported a total of 56,383 cases and 1,280 deaths in Missouri. That is an increase of 1,062 confirmed cases and seven deaths from Wednesday. The seven-day positive test rate increased from 9.9% Wednesday to 10.6% Thursday.