This story was updated at 11:30 p.m. March 14, 2020, with Missouri's fifth coronavirus case.
Gov. Mike Parson and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced a fifth case of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, was confirmed Saturday by the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory in Jefferson City. Officials said the case is in Greene County and is travel-related.
In a news release, health officials said Springfield-Greene County Health Department staff are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the health department to determine any close contacts of that individual who were possibly exposed. They added if there are close contacts, health officials "will provide guidance to these individuals and monitor them closely for the development of symptoms."
[]
The state lab, along with DHSS, reported they have tested a total of 127 individuals for COVID-19 in Missouri including the positive case announced Saturday. Two positive cases have been reported in St. Louis County, one in Henry County and two cases in Greene County.
Health officials added, as of Saturday night, the state lab is no longer required to send positive tests to the CDC for confirmation. Results from tests conducted at the state lab are considered final.
Two of the five cases in the state were announced Friday, with one being a St. Louis County resident in their 50s whose case is believed to be related to domestic travel. The other Friday case is a person from western Missouri's Henry County, according to details released Saturday.
The Henry County patient was hospitalized at Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton before being transferred March 8 to another facility, where the patient was tested and remains for treatment.
Golden Valley Memorial Hospital has now been placed on diversion for emergency services and has been told to not admit new patients, the department said.
Parson on Friday declared a state of emergency in response to the virus.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the WHO, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
EARLIER COVERAGE:
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - State officials released new details on one of Missouri's latest cases of coronavirus disease, as residents braved rainy weather to line up at a drive-thru testing site in suburban St. Louis for the new coronavirus.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said in a news release Saturday that a person from western Missouri's Henry County is one of two new cases announced Friday. The patient was hospitalized at Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in Clinton before to being transferred March 8 to another facility, where the patient was tested and remains for treatment.
Golden Valley Memorial Hospital has now been placed on diversion for emergency services and has been told to not admit new patients, the department said.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday declared a state of emergency in response to the virus. The state has four confirmed cases of COVID-19.
In a Mercy Hospital building parking lot in Chesterfield, masked and gowned medical staffers worked in a steady rain to take nasal swabs of people who lined up at a drive-thru testing site.
The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the WHO, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.