COVID hotspot advisory issued for SE Missouri

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services issued a COVID-19 hotspot advisory for Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, Scott and Perry counties Tuesday.

"Cases have elevated in Cape Girardeau (431), Mississippi (89), Perry (116) and Scott (330) counties within the last 14 days," DHSS officials wrote in the advisory.

DHSS rated COVID-19 severity across Southeast Missouri counties based on state averages. Bollinger County was the only county not given an above average, high or severe level of severity.

The Bollinger County Health Center reported 76 active cases in its latest update Monday. A total of 25.1% of Bollinger County residents have completed vaccination.

Scott County received a "severe" rating. Cape Girardeau, Perry, Madison and Wayne counties were all given "above average" severity ratings. Stoddard, Mississippi and New Madrid Counties received "high" levels of severity ratings.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

Cape Girardeau County has the highest vaccination rate of all the counties ranked. According to the DHSS, 36.7% of residents in Cape Girardeau County are fully vaccinated.

Experts say at least 70% to 80% of people, depending on the type of variant virus, need immunity to provide the best chance of minimizing spread within a community, according to the advisory.

DHSS officials wrote in the advisory hospitals in the region are seeing a resource strain from dramatically increased numbers of COVID-19 patients.

"As a result, several hospitals in the region are at or near capacity," the advisory stated. "Continued disease spread along Interstate 55 is expected."

DHSS's full advisory can be viewed on its website, www.health.mo.gov.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services