As summer gives way to fall, a time when a “second wave” has been predicted, our state finds itself in a battle, with a pattern of small advances followed by setbacks, against the pandemic.
After flattening the curve in the St. Louis metropolitan region with shelter-in-place and masking policies, we saw increases in cases in July as many businesses reopened. Now we are seeing jumps in new confirmed coronavirus infections, especially in the 18-24 age group as students return to college campuses in Missouri and across the country. Across the state, the positivity rate — the percent of those tested found to have the virus — is also rising after dropping slightly several weeks earlier. Unfortunately, the number of lives lost in Missouri to this disease continues to climb.