Missouri coronavirus count doesn't include antigen tests

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's health department doesn't include antigen tests in its count of COVID-19 cases, meaning tens of thousands of positive tests have not been included in the state's tally.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch obtained data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services showing antigen tests found 20,083 cases of the coronavirus in December alone, and 12,228 in January through Tuesday.

Missouri's virus tracking dashboard on Friday showed 445,621 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Though that total doesn't include antigen tests, the same dashboard separately lists details about each type of testing. It shows 64,685 Missourians have tested positive through antigen tests, also known as rapid tests.

Antigen testing has increased in popularity in recent months. For the week of Jan. 10, the dashboard shows 53,243 of the 164,282 tests administered were antigen tests.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines require all confirmed and probable cases to be reported. The CDC has included positive antigen test results in its definition of "probable" cases since August.

State health department spokeswoman Lisa Cox confirmed in an email Missouri does not list probable cases, only confirmed cases of the virus. She noted states "are reporting differently across the map" and Missouri is awaiting "clear CDC guidance."

While the state wrestles with test reporting, it is moving to vaccinate more people. Republican Gov. Mike Parson last week announced plans for mass vaccination sites across the state, and the first of those sites opened Friday in Poplar Bluff.

The Poplar Bluff site was set up on a parking lot. Shots are administered while people stay in their vehicles. State officials say the sites will be able to administer about 2,500 doses per day. The National Guard is assisting with their operation.

In St. Louis, the city is cracking down on establishments accused of violating restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus, including one-year suspensions for three bars.

The city notified seven establishments they must close last week, citing violations for face covering and social distancing. Four were shut down for 30 days, but two popular bars near Busch Stadium -- Start Bar and The Wheelhouse -- were shut down for one year, along with the Midtown Bar & Grill.

The shutdowns drew an angry response from the operators, customers and some lawmakers.

"The City of St. Louis has issued The Wheelhouse and Start Bar a one year business closure for refusing to treat you like children," read a statement on Wheelhouse's Instagram site.

The closures prompted a request for St. Louis health director Dr. Fredrick Echols to explain the reasoning for the closures to a state panel. Republican state Rep. Nick Schroer of O'Fallon posted on Facebook his letter asking Echols to appear Tuesday before the Special Committee on Small Business.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Echols planned to do so. A message left with his spokeswoman was not immediately returned.