Missouri Reporting Higher Average Number of Virus Cases

(AP) — The average number of virus cases Missouri reports each day is on the rise again after declining for more than two weeks.

The seven-day rolling average of new cases in the state had been declining since late November before starting to move back up late last week. That rolling average fell from a high of 4,723 on Nov. 20 to 3,158 on Thursday, but it increased to 3,269 on Friday and hit 3,669 on Saturday.

That increase in the rolling average reflects the large number of new cases that were reported this weekend. The state reported 5,001 virus cases on Saturday and another 3,876 cases on Sunday to give the state a total of 322,298 cases since the pandemic began.

The state reported 11 new deaths Sunday to give Missouri 4,192 deaths total.

The number of people hospitalized with the virus across the state declined to 2,708 on Thursday, which is the most recent data available. That was down from the previous day’s 2,735, but it remains high. The record number of hospitalizations set on Nov. 18 was 2,851.