St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force

Dr. Alexander Garza said the best way to prepare for a future pandemic is to improve social resources, such as food access, education and transportation.

St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force officials say the coronavirus is spreading at a rate about five times higher than six weeks ago, but less than during the coronavirus peak in January. They're again urging people to get the COVID-19 vaccine and wear masks.

A medical group of 40 will be at the hospital in north St. Louis County for a month.

More than 40 doctors and nurses from the Navy will arrive at Christian Hospital in north St. Louis County to help doctors overwhelmed by the influx of COVID-19 patients.

St. Louis hospitals are canceling procedures, shuffling an overburdened workforce and pleading with the public to wear masks and get vaccinated as they fill with COVID-19 patients.

Health workers are treating more than 1,020 people with COVID-19 inside St. Louis hospitals, the highest number of inpatient hospitalizations since the pandemic began. The task force reported 61 patients 18 and younger are hospitalized with the disease.

The number of people testing positive for the virus in St. Louis has more than tripled since last month, St. Louis health officials said Wednesday. More than 14% of coronavirus tests are coming back positive.

St. Louis County is experiencing one of its largest surges in COVID cases in more than a year.

Dr. Alex Garza is back from Kuwait and jumping into action co-leading the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, during a surge in COVID-19 cases in the region.

Since Dr. Alex Garza’s deployment to Kuwait earlier this year, Dr. Clay Dunagan has headed the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. He joined “St. Louis on the Air” with the latest.