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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A new death from COVID-19 was announced Tuesday in Greene County. The 80-year-old is the 19th victim of the virus this month and the 173rd since the start of the pandemic.
Also on Tuesday, Mayor Ken McClure extended the city’s civil emergency order as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Springfield and Greene County. The proclamation was first drafted in March, when Greene County recorded 3 positive cases of the virus. Today there have been over 11,000.
The Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard tracks things like testing and the ability of hospitals to handle new patients. Right now, some of these dials are turning yellow or even red, indicating that there might be a problem. Health director Clay Goddard tells KY3 that some data can be misleading.
As the Springfield-Greene County COVID-19 dashboard shows a 54% testing capacity, health director Clay Goddard said it wasn’t as bad as it sounds.
“We really want to use more testing, so we want to be in that yellow zone for testing, that means we are expanding our capabilities,” he said. “If we’re in the red, it’s not really a lack of supplies. We could take more testing if we absolutely had to.
The dashboard is also giving our hospital capacity a lower quality, despite the addition of additional COVID-19 units by local hospitals.
“If you look at the state dashboard, they said 40% of the beds are unoccupied, which makes you think everything is fine,” Goddard said. “The problem our health care providers statewide are really grappling with is having the staff to staff these beds.”
Goddard said the most alarming dial for some would be the Public Health Capacity Score, which only reaches 10%. This dial measures the ability to interview patients and contact those who may have been exposed.
“Anytime we get over 150 cases a day reported to us, it’s going to create some hardship for us,” Goddard said.
Contact tracers try to notify people within 72 hours of testing positive for the virus, but you don’t have to wait for their call to begin quarantine and contact nearby contacts.
“If we can’t get in touch within 72 hours, we’ll send a text message with some instructions and we’ll follow that up with an automated phone call,” Goddard said.
The city has implemented a masking ordinance and 50% capacity limits inside buildings. Goddard said he was not sure more restrictions would help in the future. He said any extra effort should be collaborated with other counties or parts of the state as the virus is reaching beyond the city of Springfield.
Goddard also noted the financial impact the last stay-at-home order may have had on the community.
“Remember in March, when we went in that direction, there were federal programs that helped isolate some of the collateral damage,” he said. in people’s pockets so that they can continue to feed their families, we wouldn’t have that if we had to close again.
Goddard said there were no easy answers locally when it came to COVID-19 restrictions, and it’s a complicated puzzle. He said he was worried about the next few months as the holidays approach, but noted that masking is one of the best tools we can use to stop the virus.
Springfield’s current masking order expires in January.
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