(Rock Port) -- Atchison County officials say it's a wake-up call.
After months of avoiding the onslaught of COVID-19, the county's coronavirus case numbers are suddenly climbing. Atchison County Health Department Administrator Julie Livengood tells KMA News case numbers as of 8:30 Thursday morning show a dramatic increase over those of a month earlier.
"We've had 244 cases total," said Livengood. "Eighty-five of those are active cases. So, to do some comparison, last month on October 19th, we had 85 total cases. So, that is a 187% increase in one month. If we continue at this rate, we may be well over 1,300 cases by next month."
Livengood says the uptick in COVID cases is causing a strain on local public health workers to complete timely contact investigation and tracing. She says her office is working 12-hour days, seven days a week to keep up now, and she can't imagine what next month will bring. Livengood says personal responsibility is needed from the county's residents in order to stem the tide of rising coronavirus cases.
"This is rural Missouri," said Livengood. "I believe we take good care of each other here. We pride ourselves on being a down home community that sticks together. Now more than ever, it's time to take care of ourselves, our friends, our neighbors, our community. So, we've been asking everyone to take on this personal responsibility by doing what we can do to slow the spread of the virus in our community. And, that does include wearing a mask."
Livengood also recommends practicing social distancing, and disinfecting frequently-touched appliances or areas, among other mitigation steps.
"There's going to be a vaccine shortly," said Livengood. "But, we need to accept the short delay in returning to our regular lives so that we can get there safely."
She adds Missouri's health care system is feeling the strain, as well--one in five COVID-19 cases in the state may require hospitalization.
