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Since May 31, Perry County has seen a 39.3 percent increase in new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 85 cases.
During that same three-week period, the county also set two new high marks for concurrent active cases, reaching 25 on Friday.
According to Perry County Health Department director Sylvia Forester, those numbers likely have little to do with increased testing.
“I would be very hesitant to assume our new local positives are just because of more testing,” Forester said. “We are not doing community-wide testing events in Perry County and we have not received any positives from the recent community testing events in surrounding counties.”
During a press briefing last week touting the state’s move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of his “Show-Me Strong” recovery plan, Gov. Mike Parson said that testing across the state had increased more than 220 percent, averaging more than 10,000 tests per weekday.
While that may be the case statewide, in Perry County, the situation is quite different. Forester said that most of the new cases are the result of community spread involving close contact with infected persons.
“Outside of our two recent outbreaks and the sentinel testing in response to those, the positives from the general community are close contact cases or those that presented and received testing due to being symptomatic,” Forester said.
With the move to Phase 2 of the governor’s plan, statewide restrictions came to an end Tuesday. On Tuesday, Parson said that, while social distancing and masks may be helpful, that it is up to individuals to decide how to approach those measures.
Forester advised that local businesses continue to take precautions, even though there’s now no mandate to do so.
“Please keep in mind with the State of Missouri entering in to Phase 2, nothing has changed in regards to recommendations and guidelines except there is no longer a state order tied to them,” Forester said. “Foundational guidelines from the CDC, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, and the Perry County Health Department for mitigation of COVID-19 risk and spread throughout our communities remain the same.”
In addition, Forester said that investigation and response to positive cases at both the state and local level will also remain the same.
“Positive cases will need to self-isolate, investigations will occur in the same manner,” Forester said, “and close contacts and effected businesses deemed at risk will still be contacted by the health department and given formal recommendations to follow.
“We have seen these practices work, and if community members choose not to take personal responsibility and follow them, the risk for spread increases.”
While Perry County has been lucky when it comes to recoveries from COVID-19 — as of Tuesday, there have been 66 reported, leaving 19 active cases — with no deaths, Forester said it’s not as rosy a picture as it might seem.
“We have had multiple hospitalizations and many people that have been on ventilators,” Forester said. “Also, those that have been hospitalized and ventilated have not been just our senior citizens, but young healthy adults as well. What we ask of the public is not just to prevent death, but prevent pain and suffering as well.”
Forester said the state and county stay-at-home orders issued in March were effective in helping control the spread of the disease, but that continuing to follow most of the restrictions is wise.
“The stay at home order was very helpful to ensure that at the beginning of this our hospitals weren’t overwhelmed, to get PPE supplies out, and to control local effects on citizens – including prevent death,” Forester said. “There is risk associated with everything we do; mitigating that risk is the key. The guidelines have not changed. Social distancing — and if you can’t, wear a mask— washing your hands, sanitizing commonly touched surfaces, and staying home if you are sick are some of the best actions you can do to help protect yourself and protect others from you.”
The Perryville Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Mayfest event next month on July 11-12 — the date was postponed because of the virus — but Forester said risks for infection increase significantly along with crowd size.
“The Health Department continues to strongly discourage mass gatherings at this time, especially when proper social distancing cannot be accomplished,” Forester said. “There is an inherent risk involved with these types of events, which is why so many other similar area events have canceled. The Chamber has presented plans for risk mitigation and plans to make adjustments this year — which we are appreciative of — but the Health Department cannot guarantee its safety.”
