Editor's note: This is a daily briefing updating the latest information on the COVID-19 pandemic at 4 p.m. each day.
Area pet owners struggling financially because of layoffs due to the coronavirus pandemic can find help from a temporary Coronavirus Crisis Pet Food Pantry starting Thursday.
Residents of Butler, Ripley, Carter and Wayne counties can pick up pet food from 2-6 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at the former Orschelny store location, next to Planet Fitness, 950 N Westwood Blvd., in Poplar Bluff.
The Animal Welfare Alliance developed the project in cooperation with Butler County Emergency Management.
“Many folks in our four-county area have been laid off and must choose between feeding their families and feeding their pets,” said Marge Van Praag, president of AWA, in a statement. “We want to help them out the best we can until state unemployment and federal stimulus checks start arriving.”
Donations of dog and cat food, as well as cat litter, can also be dropped off at the site. Cash donations can be made online at www.awasemo.org or in person.
Donors and recipients are asked to observe social distancing and to wear masks or bandannas, as well as gloves, including washable cotton gloves.
Over the past two days, Missouri has seen an increase of 550 cases with four deaths, raising the total to 18.
From the Associated Press:
Dr. Steve Lawrence, an infectious disease physician at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, said Missouri has entered the “accelerated phase of the epidemic curve” just as many coastal states did a week or two ago.
“The question that we really want to know, and need to know, is how long the accelerated phase will last and how high it will go,” Lawrence said. “Those things will determine if we really are a hot spot.”
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Dr. Randall Williams said the number of confirmed cases is partly attributable to testing, which Missouri has made a priority. More than 17,000 Missourians have been tested, far more than most neighboring states, he said.
“Yes, it’s surely a reflection of more testing — we’re doing as much as anybody — but also we’re seeing clusters in metropolitan areas, much as the rest of the country is seeing, and that’s where we’re very much focusing our attention,” Williams said.
More than two-thirds of all cases in Missouri have been in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas. But Enbal Sachem, professor of behavioral science and health education at St. Louis University, said the lack of a statewide stay-at-home order raises concerns that as the virus makes its way to rural areas, the numbers will continue to surge.
The St. Louis and Kansas City areas, along with several other counties, have stay-at-home mandates, but Gov. Mike Parson has declined to issue a similar order across Missouri.
A database from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projects that the virus will peak in Missouri later this month and May, resulting in more than 1,200 deaths by August, the Kansas City Star reported.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
Currently there are 35 counties under stay-at-home orders around the state, with only Stoddard County issuing one in Southeast Missouri.
During the governor's daily briefing Tuesday it was announced the Missouri National Guard, along with state and federal agencies, are working to identify potential alternate care sites, if needed, around the state.
Nothing has been confirmed, but possible sites include the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Hammons Student Center and JQH Arena in Springfield and the Hearnes Center in Columbia, among others in Kansas City and Joplin.
Three main selection criteria being considered for sites include, located in areas with deficient bed counts, areas with spaces large enough for patients and where utilities are available to start construction, if needed.
---
A look at stories you might have missed from the DAR:
• PB Municipal Library to stay closed • Area schools extend break • Crisis pet food pantry opens Thursday • MERS Goodwill stores, donation centers closed
---
A look at three stories from the Associated Press:
• Trump says 'life and death' at stake in following guidelines • Rent's due as many struggle to pay in virus outbreak • What you need to do to get your government stimulus check Latest coverage from AP.
---
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 1:
US DEATHS: 4,476 Mo. Deaths: 18 Mo. Cases: 1,581
Cases by area county: Butler County: 1 Carter: 3 Stoddard: 3 Reynolds: 2 Ripley: 2 Wayne: 0 Cape: 15 Perry: 18 Scott: 6 Dunklin: 5 St. Francois: 3 Pemiscot: 2 Bollinger: 1
---
From the AP: For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
Here are the symptoms of the virus compared with the common flu.
One of the best ways to prevent spread of the virus is washing your hands with soap and water. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends first washing with warm or cold water and then lathering soap for 20 seconds to get it on the backs of hands, between fingers and under fingernails before rinsing off.
You should wash your phone, too. Here’s how.
The Missouri coronavirus information hotline is 877-435-8411.
---
Tuesday, March 31 Monday, March 30 Sunday, March 29 Saturday, March 28 Friday, March 27 Thursday, March 26