COVID-19 cases in Greene County slow at month’s end

July was a busy month for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.

Health officials reported Greene County surpassed 1,000 COVID-19 cases, hit a record single-day high for positive cases and had three coronavirus-related deaths as of this morning.

The county currently has had 1,178 COVID-19 cases since the county’s first case in March, according to Health Department data. That’s up from 307 cases reported by July 1.

While cases are still rising, the data show it’s at a slower rate. In the first half of July, cases increased 98%, according to Health Department data, but in the second half of the month, cases rose 82%.

Health Department Director Clay Goddard points to the city’s passage of a face covering mandate in public places as one contributing factor. The ordinance took effect July 16.

“We know cases don’t slow down the day you act. Policy is not a switch that is flipped,” Goddard said at Springfield City Council’s July 27 meeting.

“The incubation period of COVID-19 can be up to two weeks, and generally we would expect 10-21 days to see the impact of the masking ordinance. We are at day 12, and we have seen at least a slowing of cases. We will still have days of heavy case counts, but we certainly think masking has contributed to slowing the spread of illness here.”

Yesterday, the Health Department reported a recent low of 32 new cases. Spokesperson Kathryn Wall said that recent low in single-day cases came a week after the county’s all-time high of 74 cases in a single day.

At local hospitals Cox South and Mercy Hospital Springfield, there are currently 55 individuals admitted who are positive with COVID-19. Eleven of those patients are on ventilators, according to Health Department data released this morning.