“Missouri leads the nation in new COVID-19 cases per capita because of the fast-spreading delta variant that's taken hold across southern Missouri.”

“Case numbers continue to surge in those areas, and public health officials say it's only a matter of time before the variant takes hold in major metropolitan areas like Kansas City and St. Louis. Wastewater testing shows the variant is already beginning to spread in Kansas City. Wastewater testing showed the delta variant was responsible for 100 percent of all coronavirus cases in Independence as of last week, prompting health officials to issue their own advisory.”

Meanwhile in Springfield, Missouri, hospital officials are looking at establishing an "alternative care site" as hospitals struggle under the weight of rising COVID-19 admissions. As of Thursday, 230 people with coronavirus were hospitalized in Springfield alone, with hospitals in St. Louis and Kansas City being asked to make room for patients in need.”

“On Thursday, the Kansas City Council approved a resolution requiring the health department to be more aggressive addressing the Delta variant. “The mask mandate went away but we continued to say people not vaccinated need to wear a mask when they’re out. People who are vaccinated and don’t know the status of others around them need to wear a mask,” Michelle Pekarsky, spokeswoman for the Kansas City Health Department, said on Friday. A recommendation is forthcoming from area public health officials but it will not be a mandate or a new order. State law now prohibits local mandates.”

Meanwhile,“Local officials are reminding people to wear masks in public and practice social distancing. Low vaccination rates in parts of the Kansas City region and across Kansas and Missouri have contributed to an accelerated spread of the delta variant of the virus, which is more easily transmitted and is more dangerous.”

“Delta Is Driving a Wedge Through Missouri. For America as a whole, the pandemic might be fading. For some communities, this year will be worse than last. In June, Gov. Parson signed a law that limits local governments’ ability to enact public-health restrictions. And even before the pandemic, Missouri ranked 41st out of all the states in terms of public-health funding. ‘We started in a hole and we’re trying to catch up,’ said the director of the County Health Department.”

“KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ten Kansas City-area health departments issued a joint public health advisory on COVID-19 Friday, recommending that unvaccinated residents wear face coverings. This is only a recommendation and not a mandate. The region's health officials said the advisory is because of the rapidly increasing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across the Kansas City metro related to the emergence of the delta variant. ‘Both vaccinated and unvaccinated residents should exercise caution.’”

“ST. LOUIS — Coronavirus case rates and hospitalizations in Missouri have reached levels not seen since winter. The virus has taken hold in southwest Missouri, where hospitalizations are at near-record levels. And in recent weeks, the St. Louis region has also begun to report rising numbers of infections and hospital admissions. Health officials have warned that without aggressive action, St. Louis could follow a trajectory similar to that of southwest Missouri. Since July 1, St. Louis and St. Louis County have recommended that all residents, including the vaccinated, wear a mask when indoors with other individuals whose vaccination status is unknown. But as of Friday, neither jurisdiction was planning to reinstate mask mandates, business capacity rules or limitations on gatherings. State Law now makes any local health mandates difficult if not impossible

“KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Breakthrough infections, or COVID-19 cases among people who are vaccinated, have local health care workers concerned. Although the majority of those now being hospitalized with severe illness are unvaccinated, 1 in 6 of those hospitalized for COVID have been fully vaccinated.”

“On Thursday, the University of Kansas Hospital had 39 patients being treated for the virus, up from 29 on Wednesday. Nine patients were in the intensive care unit with four on ventilators. The rising number of cases and hospitalizations has doctors worried. “We’re in trouble, Kansas City,” chief medical officer Steve Stites said. All of the other hospitals in the KC Metro face the same.”

“So far in Missouri, 2.46 million have been fully vaccinated, or 40% of the population.” Many Missouri counties have less than 30% (to a low of merely 15%)of their residents who have even initiated vaccinated; with even fewer fully vaccinated. These low vaccination numbers pose a threat of severe disease for both the unvaccinated and to a lesser extent some of the vaccinated who may not be as well protected against the Delta variant. The higher the rate of infection in the community, the higher the rate of vaccination 'break through' cases. No one is totally safe where COVID is out of control."

“The 1918 flu pandemic took Missouri by surprise too, says Carolyn Orbann, an anthropologist at the University of Missouri who studies that disaster. While much of the world felt the brunt of the pandemic in October 1918, Missouri had irregular waves with a bigger peak in February 1920. So when COVID-19 hit, Orbann predicted that the state might have a similarly drawn-out experience.”