St. Louis County Department of Public Health

COVID-19 killed more than 1,300 St. Louis County residents last year, comprising about 11% of all deaths. Only heart disease and cancer killed more people. North St. Louis County residents had the highest COVID-19 mortality rate.

Under the new law, Missouri counties and towns will only be able to issue orders that restrict access to businesses, churches and schools for 30 days when the governor declares a public health emergency. Without it, they can impose restrictions for 21 days. The law also bars officials from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccinations to use public facilities and services.

The county health department has found 212 coronavirus cases among vaccinated people, which shows the shots are "terrifically effective," county health experts said.

The number of new coronavirus cases in the St. Louis region is rising after weeks of stable numbers. Public health officials say the region is now in a race to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine before the virus becomes more widespread.

St. Louis is consistently listed as one of the worst “Asthma Capitals” in the country by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. During the pandemic, environmental issues such as dust from demolitions and housing conditions make it even harder for people to breathe. In this episode, we hear from a chronic disease epidemiologist and health education coordinator about an initiative to create healthier homes, an educator who collects racial and ethnic data to help us understand environmental issues in our region, and a reverend putting matters into his own hands to help his community live in a healthier environment.

St. Louis County extends its curfew on restaurants, bars and banquet centers to 11 p.m. beginning Monday.

Only a small fraction of St. Louis County residents have antibodies to the coronavirus, according to a recent survey launched by the Institute of Public Health at Washington University. This means that the vast majority of people in the region are still susceptible to COVID-19, says Dr. Elvin Geng, an infectious disease professor at the Washington University School of Medicine.

St. Louis County is asking residents who test positive for the coronavirus to call people they may have come into contact with. Public health employees have become overwhelmed by new cases, County Executive Sam Page said Monday.

Contact tracers track down and tell potentially infectious people to isolate themselves to keep others from getting sick with the coronavirus. But the effort takes more than a phone and a list of names to be successful.

Officials in St. Louis and St. Louis County eased coronavirus-related rules limiting youth sports Wednesday, allowing young athletes to resume practices and some to return to competitive play.