The summer surge in COVID-19 cases continued Saturday in Missouri, with the state health department reporting 1,771 newly confirmed cases.
Data also showed another uptick in hospitalizations. The state’s COVID-19 dashboard shows 1,424 people hospitalized across the state, up 67 from the previous day. The number of patients in intensive care units rose by 15 to 440. All told, the state has reported 543,694 confirmed cases of the virus, and 9,474 deaths since the onset of the pandemic.
Cases and hospitalizations have risen sharply in recent weeks due to the presence of the delta variant of the virus, and because of low vaccination rates, especially in rural areas.
