Cape County coronavirus cases rise; drive-through testing planned; 'sentinel' testing at Charleston state lockup

Only two counties in the region reported new COVID-19 cases Tuesday.

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center’s update pushed the county’s total count to 68 cases. Twenty-five of those patients are in Cape Girardeau; 21 are in Jackson; and 22 are elsewhere in the county.

Scott County reported one new case, bringing its total to 94 cases.

No new cases were reported in Stoddard (74), Perry (49) or Bollinger (6) counties in Missouri or Union (140) or Alexander (8) counties in Illinois.

Drive-through testing

The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and National Guard will perform drive-through testing for COVID-19 on June 5 in Cape Girardeau County. The tests are open to all residents of Missouri who register online, and interested people do not have to have COVID-19 symptoms to be eligible for the test.

“We are grateful to the state for making this opportunity possible,” Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center director Jane Wernsman said in a release. “Testing is extremely important in this pandemic, and kits have been difficult to get. The more testing that is done — on symptomatic as well as asymptomatic residents — the more we will continue to learn about how this disease spreads and how prevalent it is in our communities.”

Testing will be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 5 at Arena Park.

Online registration is required through DHSS at www.health.mo.gov/communitytest or by calling the state hotline at (877) 435-8411. Registrants will be given a 15-minute appointment block. Upon arrival at the drive-through testing site, they will be asked questions, including about symptoms they may or may not have. Members of the National Guard will collect the nasopharyngeal specimen. Patients will be notified of their results by the Department of Health and Senior Services within seven days.

Those who receive a positive test should stay home, isolate themselves and call their provider if any concerns arise, the release stated.

More information may be found at www.facebook.com/CapeCoHealth.

Southeast Correctional

The first phase of “sentinel” testing for the coronavirus began Tuesday at two Missouri prisons, including Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston, and will continue for four days, Ann Precythe, director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, said during Gov. Mike Parson’s Tuesday media briefing.

The other prison targeted for Phase One is Southcentral Correctional in Licking.

The Charleston state lockup is the only one of Missouri’s 22 adult correctional institutions to declare an outbreak, defined as at least two confirmed cases.

“A total of 3,500 people will receive Phase One testing,” Precythe said, adding that all new offenders are now tested at intake and those scheduled for release will have a test one week prior to departing.