Coronavirus takes eight lives in region

Area health officials attributed eight deaths to COVID-19 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Five of the deaths came Wednesday in Cape Girardeau County, bringing the county’s total number of virus deaths to 49. The deaths involved one person in the 70-79 age bracket, two 80-89, one 90-99 and one 100-plus.

Two of the deaths came from Stoddard County, Missouri — one Tuesday and one Wednesday. Officials reported 43 new virus cases in the county on those days (971 total cases, 782 recoveries, 20 deaths).

Cape Girardeau County health officials reported 43 new virus cases Tuesday and 45 Wednesday, pushing the county’s total number of cases to 2,726. Recoveries in the county total 2,175, and as of Wednesday, there were 502 active cases in the county.

Seventy-one of those were in long-term care facilities, which have seen a total of 262 cases, with 155 recoveries and 36 deaths.

The other fatality was in Scott County on Wednesday, the county’s 21st attributed to the virus. Officials reported 15 new virus cases Tuesday and 23 Wednesday (1,384 total cases, 1,061 recoveries).

On Wednesday, Southeast Missouri State University reported 342 total cases (314 students and 28 employes). Thirty-six cases were active. Those in quarantine/isolation on campus totaled 28, down from 21 the previous day.

Elsewhere in Missouri, Bollinger County reported 14 new cases (610 total cases, 503 recoveries, two deaths), and Perry County reported 22 new cases (878 total cases, 822 recoveries, nine deaths).

Southern Seven Health Department in Illinois reported 12 new cases — 17 in Union County (732 total cases, 477 recoveries, 21 deaths) and two in Alexander County (105 total cases, 63 recoveries, one death).

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center board of trustees will meet at 10 a.m. Oct. 27 at Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau, and officials are accepting public comments for the meeting through 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Submit comments online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/2SR9FJ3.