Less than 48 hours after Perry County received news of its first confirmed case of COVID-19 and less than 24 hours after the county commission declared a state of emergency, the Perry County Health Department reported the confirmation of a second case.
According to a news release issued at 6:42 p.m. Monday, March 23, the second individual, reported to be a male in his 30s, was exhibiting symptoms when he was contacted by the Health Department as part of their investigation into those who had been in close contact with the first infected individual.
The male subject was tested through the Missouri State Public Health Lab, which confirmed the diagnosis.
According to the health department, it is unclear at this time which person was infected first.
The first case was announced late Saturday, and according to the health department, the female subject is isolated at home and has been since her symptoms first presented.
Public health officials are investigating both cases, speaking with individuals who the patient may have come into contact with before the confirmed diagnoses. Method of transmission is still being investigated. The patients will continue to be monitored by the health department while in isolation.
The health department said it expects more cases to be confirmed locally as the number of citizens tested increases.
On Sunday, the Perry County Commission declared a state of emergency in the county, activating the county’s Emergency Operations Center and ordering that all gatherings — public or private — be limited to 10 or fewer individuals who must maintain proper social distancing.
The order also mandates the closure of all “restaurants, food establishments, food courts, cafes, and coffee houses,” along with all “bars, taverns, brew pubs, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, tasting rooms, special licensees, and private clubs” to inside service, while encouraging each to “offer food and beverage service to the public using delivery service, window service, walk-up service, drive-through service, or drive-up service, so long as every such person involved implements appropriate precautions to decrease the potential transmission of COVID-19, including social distancing techniques.”
“We are working closely with the Perry County Health Department, City of Perryville and Emergency Management to make informed decisions to keep our community safe, “ Sauer said. “We are listening to the health department, and implementing the recommendations of the Department of Health and Senior Services and Governor Parson’s office.”
As of 2 p.m. Monday, the state Department of Health and Senior Services listed 183 confirmed cases in Missouri — nearly double the number listed Friday — and three deaths. The first fatality was reported on March 18.
There are more than 42,000 active cases across the U.S., with more than 530 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking the spread of the virus. Worldwide, there are more than 378,000 active cases with more than 16,000 deaths and nearly 101,000 people have recovered from the infection.
COVID-19, which stands for "coronavirus disease 2019," is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2.
COVID-19 is a member of the coronavirus family of viruses, some of which can infect people and animals, named for crown-like spikes on their surfaces.
The viruses can cause the common cold or more severe diseases such as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and COVID-19, the latter of which first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China.
Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually the elderly or those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.
For more information about COVID-19, call the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ 24-hour hotline at 1-877-435-8411.
For more information regarding COVID-19 and CDC guidance for local response, visit www.coronavirus.gov.
For Missouri specific information, visit the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services at health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus.
For more on this story and others, see the March 26 edition of the Republic-Monitor or visit perryvillenews.com/category/covid-19.
