Media Contact: Lisa Cox Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Lisa.Cox@health.mo.gov

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Today, the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) added 2,918 cases, 113 deaths and 24,470 tests to the total counts on the state’s public health dashboard, but this data is not solely reflective of what has occurred in Missouri in the past 24 hours. 

As is typical, DHSS received a relatively high number of test and case records Thursday and Friday compared to earlier days in the week, leading to a high day-over-day increase in total cases and tests. 

As cases are reported to DHSS, they are then assigned to the date the person was tested. These cases did not occur in the past 24 hours but rather from Oct. 18-22 and were simply reported and processed on Friday. 

“As we have stated, this is why it is important to look at 7-day averages rather than daily numbers when it comes to data for cases, deaths and positivity rate,” said Dr. Randall Williams, director of DHSS. Due to how and when entities report information to us, we see steep inclines and deep dives on certain days of each week, and it’s the averages that paint a more clear picture of how COVID-19 is impacting Missouri.”

Current 7-day averages:

• Cases - Average of 1,554 per day
• Deaths - Average of 11 per day
• Tests - Average of 15,740 per day

On Friday, DHSS analyzed several death certificates and linked 108 COVID-19 associated deaths with the appropriate cases in the state’s disease surveillance system. Those that had not already been reported to the state by another entity were then captured and reported publicly through the dashboard this morning. This weekly activity typically causes a sharp increase in the deaths added to Missouri’s total the following day, which is most often on Saturdays. 

Two of the 108 deaths occurred in August, and 26 occurred in September. 80 of the deaths occurred earlier in October. 

Governor Mike Parson highlighted some of these key points during his Oct. 21 press briefing. 

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About the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: The department seeks to be the leader in protecting health and keeping people safe. More information about DHSS can be found at http://health.mo.gov or find us on Facebook and Twitter @HealthyLivingMo