By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Department of Health and Social Services officials report 412 of 2,367 Triumph Foods workers tested last week in St. Joseph test positive for COVID-19.
State Health Director Dr. Randall Williams says a closer examination of those testing positive has revealed some interesting findings.
“As we look at these people who are asymptomatic and go in and talk to them, we are finding that if you look at the six or seven criteria the CDC now lists that many of them are now telling us that they were in fact symptomatic,” Williams tells reporters in Jefferson City during the daily COVID-19 briefings hosted by the governor. “They might not have had a fever, but they had a cough or muscle aches.”
Williams says health officials believe asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 are less contagious than those who display symptoms, though that remains unclear.
Williams says some test results from the pork processing plant are still pending.
Northwest Health Services set up a temporary testing site in the Triumph Foods parking lot in south St. Joseph last week. Northwest finished its testing Friday morning. Employees who were off last week will be tested at the Northwest southside clinic.
Under CDC guidelines, Triumph employees can return to work if they do not display symptoms for 10 days after being tested.
St. Joseph and Buchanan County health officials report 327 total COVID-19 cases; 300 confirmed by lab results and 27 probable cases. Andrew County continues to report five cases.
Mosaic Life Care has tested 2,282 individuals with 91 testing positive for the coronavirus. Four of those have been hospitalized with the rest being treated at their homes. Mosaic is awaiting the results of 129 tests.
Missouri reports 8,916 cases of COVID-19 with 377 deaths.
Kansas reports 5,458 cases with 137 deaths.