Forty-two months ago, COVID-19 was perhaps the best known acronym in America. Not so much these days.

News of the perilous and sometimes lethal coronavirus disease, which burst onto the American scene in March 2020, plunged the United States into lockdowns, remote work and distance learning.

In Southeast Missouri's populous Cape Girardeau County, the public health board's board of trustees issued a controversial face covering order July 10, 2020, then lifted it nearly eight months later March 8, 2021.

Executives of Cape Girardeau's leading health systems, SoutheastHEALTH and Saint Francis, joined then-county health department director Jane Wernsman on Nov. 13, 2020, to implore the public to take precautions.

At an outdoor news conference held at county health board headquarters on Linden Street in Cape Girardeau, with the venue explicitly chosen for the safety of attendees, one plea was most direct,

"We beg you to mask, to wash hands and please socially distance," said Maryann Reese, the now former president and CEO of Saint Francis Healthcare System.

Wernsman provided the local COVID-19 data on that chilly day just two weeks before Thanksgiving.

"Our rolling 14-day (COVID-19) case count is at 1,249, or an average of 89 new cases a day," Wernsman said, "but we've had more than 100 cases each of the last two days."

Change

On April 1, 2022, Missouri transitioned to a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic response, with state officials managing the disease as an endemic and no longer as a pandemic.

On May 11, 2023, more than three years after the coronavirus became a household word, President Joe Biden declared the U.S. public health emergency over.

Today

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center reported 201 COVID-19 cases in the month of August to its board of trustees Tuesday, Sept. 26, a monthly figure down more than half from the 409 cases reported in January.

Of note

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 data tracker, the level of hospital admissions because of coronavirus remain low in 107 of Missouri's 114 counties.

Seven counties in the Show Me State register a medium admission level for COVID-19 -- DeKalb, Nodaway, Gentry, Harrison, Andrew and Buchanan in the northwest part of the state; and Camden County in mid-Missouri.

Hospital data is updated regularly at the following link: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#maps_new-admissions-rate-county.

Advisory

"Cases are down significantly but the end of the emergency declarations does not mean the virus is no longer a threat. The virus remains a leading cause of death in the United States. We continue to encourage individuals to stay up-to-date on vaccinations, use at-home tests when exposed or experiencing symptoms, and stay home if sick. These precautions are the best ways to protect yourself and your loved ones," according to a release from Missouri Health and Senior Services.

Autumn Grim, who became Cape Girardeau County's public health director June 30, said Tuesday, Sept. 26, COVID-19 is a regularly occurring malady now, just like the flu or respiratory syncytial virus.

"People just need to be diligent in terms of personal hygiene. Wash your hands; stay at home when ill; and stay away from other sick people. (COVID-19) is no different in terms of transmission. If people would take those preventative measures, then they would probably be OK," she said.