As of the Dec. 2 COVID-19 update issued by the Wright County Health Department, the county now has a total of 18 deaths reportedly attributed to the pandemic.
In looking at that total, I sure do miss the days when the pandemic had yet to make its way to our part of the state. According to the latest report, there are currently 39 residents in isolation and four residents are hospitalized. There have been a total of 57 people who have been hospitalized since March. This pushed the total of lab confirmed positive cases to 779 since the pandemic totals were being recorded. In breaking down the numbers by town, Mountain Grove leads the way with 371 positive tests since tracking began. Mansfield is second at 159 followed by Hartville (143), Norwood (52), Grovespring (35), Niangua (9), Macomb (7), Falcon (2) and Seymour (1). According to Missouri’s tracking website hosted by the State of Missouri, Wright County has had 51 positive cases in the past seven days.
As for the state, there have been a total of 22,031 new positive cases for COVID-19 with 77 new deaths. The point of this column is not to scare anyone. I just want to take the time to point out the updated data regarding this pandemic. These numbers show that all of us should still be a little cautious and should attempt to stay away from large crowds, if at all possible.
Wearing a mask while going shopping where there are a lot of other holiday shoppers or wearing one while attending a basketball game where fans are not able to socially distance properly would be a recommendation. Notice that I said recommendation. While we do not live in an area where masks have been mandated at this time, I still think all of us should just be wise with the situations in which we put ourselves in. And if you choose to go to a store or over to someone’s home that requires you to wear a mask, I’d encourage you to wear a mask just out of respect for the place that you are going. President-elect Joe Biden, upon certification of the Electoral College, said he would ask Americans to wear a mask for his first 100 days of office. While I understand his approach in helping to curtail the virus, 100 days is more than three months. While part of me wants to honor that request, the skeptic in me wonders what will be the next government mandate at the end of 100 days? In the meantime, just be safe where you can to help slow the curve.
