ӣ����Ƶ

Local hospitals reported admissions of 39 new cases Wednesday — a drop from 55 registered the day before. That total, along with others from recent days, reaches a level not seen since the early stages of the pandemic.

“It builds on the narrative that we have too much virus circulating in our communities,” said Dr. Alex Garza, head of the ӣ����Ƶ Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, at his Wednesday press conference. “We’re far from out of the woods.”

The region’s seven-day moving average for new hospitalizations nudged from 45 to 44.

“Any time especially that rolling seven-day admissions gets above 40, we know that that is in our red zone," said Garza. "That’s when we start to be really concerned about the number of patients that are showing up in our healthcare systems.”

ӣ����Ƶ County reported 286 new cases of the virus in the past 24 hours. Statewide, the county has been Missouri’s leading source of known cases, accounting for 14,074, so far.

Garza reiterated regular messages about the importance of key behaviors, such as social distancing, wearing masks, and diligent hand washing. Only strict, widespread adherence to those practices, he explained, will help local numbers improve to safer levels.

“I hate to keep repeating it, but it is really that simple,” said Garza. “If you do all of these things, it reduces the risk tremendously.”