After steep increases at the end of March, new cases of people testing positive for the coronavirus have leveled off, if not declined in Missouri, Illinois and the St. Louis metro area. St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force officials say area hospitals could see a peak of hospitalizations later this week. The average length of the illness is nearly two weeks. As of Monday evening, more than 4,600 people, or about 165 per 100,000 people, in the St. Louis metro had tested positive for the virus. Illinois’ ratio of about 250 cases per 100,000 residents is roughly two and a half times greater than the nearly 95 per 100,000 people in Missouri who have tested positive.
St. Louis metro includes: St. Louis city, and St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson, Franklin, Warren and Lincoln counties in Missouri, and Monroe, Madison, St. Clair, Jersey and Clinton counties in Illinois.Rolla area includes: Pulaski, Texas, Dent, Crawford, Maries and Phelps counties in Missouri.Quincy area includes: Lewis and Marion counties in Missouri and Adams county in Illinois.Note: Chart begins when Illinois recorded its fifth case.