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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – Greene County reported a record 17 deaths on Thursday, pushing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to over 200. On Friday, four more residents were added to the total, the raising to 220 with more than 10 percent of those (24) coming in the first four days of December.
“I know we continue to sound like a broken record on the importance of this problem, but each of those numbers represents a life,” said Katie Towns, deputy director of the Springfield-Greene County Department of Health.
To pay tribute to the deceased victims and put a face to those numbers, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department has put up a commemorative section on its website and Facebook with photos and information about those lives that are no longer with us because of COVID-19.
If that wasn’t sobering enough, the department has also reported 256 new cases in the county, more than a hundred more than their recent daily averages (in the 125-150 range) and not even close to the numbers from last spring. when there were were closures and closed businesses.
“It’s awfully worse (now),” Towns said.
“The peak during the holidays continues to be of concern to us,” added Brent Hubbard, President / COO of Mercy.
Health officials believe this big jump in the number of new cases could very well be the start of the post-Thanksgiving surge they planned to happen due to travel and family reunions.
“We’ve seen 16% of our cases over the past week related to possible Thanksgiving exposure,” Towns said. “I think this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Between that 10-14 day window of exposure is when we start to see hospitalizations,” Hubbard said. “So next Wednesday we’ll have a really good idea of where we’re at as a result of the Thanksgiving gatherings.”
Gary Camp has just overcome COVID-19.
Describing himself as a very healthy man in his 70s camp, he said he was strong enough to bail out the hay until the coronavirus hit him and put him to bed where he slept about 16 hours a day. day.
“It made me humble,” he said. “I lost 27 pounds and it zapped me. It took away my strength and energy. Wear these masks!
Asked about those people who still believe COVID-19 is overkill and no worse than the flu?
“If they have it, they will change their mind,” he replied.
“It can be frustrating that there are differences of opinion, but it’s part of human nature,” Hubbard said. “We understand that and that’s why we try to bring science to the table and also what’s just the right thing to do.”
And they say the right thing to do next is to limit Christmas gatherings to prevent this holiday wave from getting worse.
“We’re just asking people to hang in there and get through the last holiday season,” Towns said with a vaccine that should be distributed to anyone who wants it by the end of next summer. “The next holiday season, we can celebrate again.”
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