Health officials in Pettis County want to caution residents that “The pandemic is not over yet.”

During the Pettis County COVID-19 Task Force meeting on Monday, June 14, they noted, “We need to continue to practice preventative health practices, particularly around children under 12 who cannot be vaccinated. We need to continue to be aware to protect those who cannot be vaccinated or continue to be at risk due to underlying health conditions.”

Health officials also say Pettis County is located between two areas of increasing COVID 19 cases – Linn, Livingston and Chariton counties to the north and Stone, Taney, Christian, Greene, Webster, Laclede, Camden and Miller counties to the south- which are all tourist and recreation destinations.

Health officials say, “These counties are along or close to the Highway 65 corridor and many visitors stop in Sedalia on their way to the Lake of the Ozarks and other destinations.”

Cox Medical Center has had to reopen a COVID ICU closed last February. Two of the 48 hospitalized patients at Cox are 16 years old. The Delta variant, a highly-contagious variant from India, has been reported in 18 mostly rural wastewater districts.

An increase in viral load in the Central Waste water treatment plant was noted for the week of May 24-31. Information is posted on the Department of Health and Senior Services’ website <https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f7f5492486114da6b5d6fdc07f81aacf>