Lake of the Ozarks area considered new hot spot for COVID-19 cases

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (KY3) - Three counties near Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks have been declared COVID-19 hot spots by the Missouri Department of Health & Human Services.

“Right now at Lake regional, we over the last several weeks have seen a very steady and increasing number of admissions to the hospital that our patients suffering, you know, from the COVID virus,” said Dane Henry, CEO of Lake Regional Health Systems.

He said right now they are seeing more and more patients coming in to the hospital needing to be treated for COVID-19.

“About two months ago, we had between one to two, maybe three or four patients per day, and over the last six or seven weeks that have steadily climbed to the point now where on Sundays we’ve hovered in the high 20s and low 30s.”

Lake Regional can’t know for sure, but Henry says they assume it is because of the Delta Variant that has been sweeping the state.

“From what we know, from what we’ve been told from the public health community and the Delta vary is present here in Missouri new, we’re taking the assumption that a lot of the patients that we have are of the Delta variant,” said Henry.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced Camden, Miller, and Morgan Counties are considered hot spots for the virus.

“I can tell you that with very, very few exceptions, the people that we are admitting have been unvaccinated, we have admitted very, very few vaccinated individuals.”

He said about half the patients that are in the hospital need a ventilator.

“Vast majority of patients in our ICU are COVID positive, and at a minimum half of those are on ventilators”

And it’s starting to wear on his employees.

“I’ve been engaging with the emergency room staff a number of times, and I can tell you that our staff are very, very tired.”

Right now, the best thing the public can do to help is to get vaccinated.

Information about the COVID-19 vaccine can be found at the links below.

Missouri COVID Information

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