Cape Co: 1 in 35 test positive for COVID-19

Nearly one out of every 35 residents of Cape Girardeau County has tested positive for the coronavirus.

That number is based on statistics provided Thursday at the Cape Girardeau County Commission meeting by Mark Winkler, director of the county's emergency services office.

"As of this morning, we've had 2,166 confirmed cases and 88 probables for a total of 2,254," he said.

With a county population of approximately 78,000, that means almost 2.9% of Cape County's residents, or about one out of every 35, have had the virus.

In his report to the commissioners, Winkler said the Cape Girardeau County Health Center's medical director, Dr. John Russell, has reviewed a draft of the state's coronavirus vaccination plan.

"It's a work in progress," Winkler said. "Right now the biggest problem is finding ultra cold storage, and by ultra cold we're meaning a negative 70 degrees Fahrenheit, to store the vaccine."

Several schools and at least one hospital have volunteered to be vaccination sites once a vaccine is approved and distributed, he said.

Speaking of schools, Winkler gave the commissioners updated numbers for the Cape Girardeau public school system, which had 5 active cases as of Thursday and 79 quarantined students, and the Jackson school district, which was reporting four active cases and 75 quarantined students as of Thursday.

Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Cape Girardeau County reached a milestone this week with a total of 200 confirmed cases among residents as of Thursday, Winkler said. Of those cases, 108 residents have recovered, 24 have died and 68 had active infections as of Thursday morning.

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