COVID-19 Data

COVID-19 can cause respiratory distress and can sometimes impact other bodily systems, for instance causing neurological or cardiovascular symptoms. In severe cases, health issues related to COVID-19 infection can require a patient to need advanced care and may be admitted to a hospital for treatment. Hospitalization is a key metric that is tracked by the City of St. Louis Dept. of Health and the CDC because it can be used to inform residents about community level risk, and is also an indicator for the burden placed on the healthcare system. When hospitalizations are high, residents should consider taking additional precautions. This graph shows the number of new hospitalizations in the hospitals within the St. Louis Health Service Area (HSA).

When a person is infected with SARS-cov-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), particles of the virus get shed when they use the restroom. These viral particles can be measured by collecting samples at water treatment plants. Historically, the concentration of virus particles in wastewater correlates strongly with the number of reported infections in that area. So, whether or not someone gets tested, wastewater surveillance can be a reliable indicator of COVID-19 in the community. This graph shows the average virus concentration in 8 wastewater surveillance sites closest to St. Louis City.

To learn more about wastewater surveillance, visit the MO Department of Health and the CDC wastewater surveillance websites.

7/22/2023 - 9/30/2023 are weighted estimates based on reported genomic sequencing results. 10/14/2023 - 10/28/2023 are model-based projected estimates.

Viruses sometimes make mistakes copying their genetic code as they replicate themselves over and over in our bodies when we have an infection. These mistakes, or mutations, can sometimes lead to advantages for these new variants of the virus: they may be able to bind more tightly to a host cell, or they may be harder for our immune systems to detect, and as a result the virus can spread more easily. The CDC uses genomic surveillance to track variants of concern and identify which variants are causing the most infections. Variant proportions for HHS Region 7 (which includes Missouri) are displayed in this graph.