County sets multiple records for new COVID-19 cases

By Geoffrey Woehlk | November 12, 2020 |

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Coronavirus Cancellations

MARYVILLE, Mo. — An 11th person has died from COVID-19 in Nodaway County, the health department announced last week — a woman between the ages of 60 and 69 — and the number of new cases continues to set record highs.

Since last week’s update in this paper, the 7-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases per day has risen further, to 30 per day. That is the highest 7-day average since the pandemic began. The surge in cases also saw new records set last week for active cases, culminating with 296 on Friday.

As of Wednesday, the health department had reported 1,375 confirmed cases and 179 probable cases of COVID-19 for a total of 1,554. The number of active cases — 293 as of Wednesday evening — has generally been increasing since the last week of October, following trends throughout the country and the state. More than 6 percent of all Nodaway County residents have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to the health department’s released data, the cases continue to largely be driven by younger age groups. Over the past 7 days, the age breakdown for new positive cases is as follows:

0-9: 4
10-19: 52
20-29: 76
30-39: 25
40-49: 27
50-59: 34
60-69: 20
70-79: 12
80-89: 12
90-99: 7

Of the 1,554 confirmed and positive cases in the county, 1,250 have been released from isolation. Seven are currently hospitalized, and 71 have been hospitalized overall.

Schools

At Northwest Missouri State University, the number of active cases has risen since a lull in September, but are not as high as they were when students initially arrived in Maryville in August.

As of Wednesday, the university’s online COVID-19 dashboard showed 84 active cases, down slightly from 94 at this time last week. In total, more than 42 percent of positive COVID-19 tests in Nodaway County have come from Northwest students or employees — a total of 661 positive tests since March.

In an update on Monday, Maryville R-II Superintendent Becky Albrecht said that 92 students were in quarantine, and five students had active cases of COVID-19.

All other public school districts in the county have refused requests to regularly release information about the number of students and staff who have tested positive or been quarantined.