Healthcare workers in Missouri are bearing the brunt as hospitalizations among people with COVID-19 have nearly doubled in a month.
The hardest hit area includes Springfield, where there’s been a dramatic rise of COVID-19 patients in one hospital system since mask mandates were lifted before two big holiday weekends. CoxHealth brought in a new morgue and doubled its oxygen reserves to prepare for the anticipated rise in cases and deaths. On Monday, it had 187 coronavirus patients — its highest ever.