Issue link: http://accesshealth.uberflip.com/i/1295335
Lafayette County Health Department has confirmed a total of 607 cases of COVID-19 in Lafayette County to date. There are currently 257 active cases. We have a total of 17 deaths, reported previously. Just over 10% of our county population has been tested. Numbers of total cases reported at the state and federal level may show differently. This is due to data entry discrepancies in the state's system. Daily total cases in Missouri have already been increasing faster and have been increasing rapidly in some of our neighboring counties and now in Lafayette County have been increasing again the last 2 weeks. It is urgent that everyone use several layers of protection: Social distancing, mask wearing in public, avoiding unnecessary gatherings and exposures, proper hand hygiene, and sneeze/cough etiquette. Stay home if you are sick. For those that supported the mask mandate, we urge you to continue to follow these practices under the Health Alert. For those who did not, we urge you to do so now as cases and illnesses (and deaths in our vulnerable population) continue to rise. If you do not take suggestions or orders from authorities, look around to what is happening in the schools and in your communities and take personal responsibility for your actions. As school has started now, it is vital that people be honest in helping contact tracers identify contacts to prevent rapid spread and avoiding the creation of more positive cases and so working to keep kids in school. It is vital that positive cases remain in isolation at home and do not go to public events here or in other counties. Sick people need to stay home until released from isolation or if not tested, an OK by their medical provider. People identified as close contacts must follow quarantine instructions. The curve will never flatten unless we all pull together and work together to comply with health regulations and recommendations. COVID-19 Cases in Lafayette County, MO (October 5, 2020)