Butler County sees 87th COVID case

Butler County health officials reported three more positive tests for COVID-19 on Thursday, the eighth straight day with a new case and the 33rd in the last 12 days and 87th since the pandemic started.

Ripley County reported a 17th case, the fifth in the last week.

The seven-day average of new cases of the coronavirus statewide continued to rise as Missouri closed in on 20,000 total cases and 1,000 deaths.

Missouri’s seven-day average of new cases reached 359 after state health officials reported 393 positive tests Thursday along with 160 from a lab that were previously not reported earlier this week.

There have been 2,513 new cases in the state over the last seven days for a total of 19,421 as the number of total deaths reached 982.

Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, trouble breathing, sore throat, muscle pain, and loss of taste or smell. Most people develop only mild symptoms, but some people, especially those with other medical issues, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia.