Despite the recent spike in coronavirus cases, the Moniteau County Health Center remains optimistic the number of active cases will continue to decrease after hitting an all-time single day high earlier this month.
Since peaking at 243 active cases at one time Nov. 12, Moniteau County's active case count has gradually dropped, now totaling at 104 as of press time Tuesday. With more than 1,300 total cases since the start of the pandemic - nearly 1,000 of which have been added in just the past two months - the county could use some relief.
The 508 cases recorded in November so far are, in part, gleaned from a Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services community testing event held at the Moniteau County Fairgrounds earlier in the month Nov. 4. Of the 72 individuals that tested positive at the event, 63 were from Moniteau County; that group seems to be reflected in the Health Center's updated case count for Nov. 9, when 70 new cases were added to the county's tally.
Darrell Hendrickson, environmental specialist with the Moniteau County Health Center, said though the county saw a marked increase in cases earlier in the month, the county is fortunate to be on a slight decline at the moment.
"We're hopeful that decline will continue," Hendrickson said. "We believe that if people pay attention to the guidance - the social distancing, wearing a mask, those kinds of things - that would help drive our numbers even lower."
Hendrickson said there are some concerns with Thanksgiving taking place this week and likely prompting more citizens to gather and travel, but he said the community has been fairly responsive in modifying its practices recently, sparking more optimism. He pointed to the traditional Thanksgiving day meal in Tipton, which has been modified to function as a drive-thru.
He said the response could possibly be because at this point, more people in Moniteau County have been touched personally by a positive case affecting a friend or family member. Knowing someone who has caught the virus, or been among the 15 in the county who have died due to complications from it, eliminates some of that skepticism.
"We're starting to see the community take responsive steps to actually try to bend that curve back down to where it should be," Hendrickson said.
That helps lighten the burden on the Health Center, which recently had to shut its doors for a few days to catch up on contact tracing. With the help of the DHSS, the county caught up fairly quickly and has since reopened for appointments for most of its regular public health services.
"We're feeling a little better, as far as our staff being so overwhelmed," Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson said since individuals, not public health officials, are the ones in control of the spread of COVID-19, all they can do is hope the community will continue to heed their guidance and cases will continue to decline little by little.
It can be difficult when things can change so quickly, he added.
"We're really hopeful, but we have to look at this with some real skepticism that it doesn't take much of a hiccup and we've got a problem," he said.
Skepticism aside, Hendrickson said another positive point more recently has been some of the news indicating a COVID-19 vaccine is inching closer to being ready for distribution. He said state health officials have indicated the state already has a plan in place for dispersal, pending approval, and as such would be ready to do so even if a vaccine were approved by next month, in an absolute best-case scenario.
Even in this instance, Hendrickson said, it would likely take until the middle of summer in 2021 for everyone who wants the vaccine to get it; dispersal would hit groups like nursing homes and health care workers first before the general public, and availability would also be a factor.
Until a vaccine is actually approved, though, the community will need to continue to stay the course, Hendrickson said.
"Everybody needs to continue doing the things that will keep them and their family members safe," he said.