Overview' Rise in cases hits Missouri tourist areas, France eqsers restrictions

O’FALLON, Mo. — A swath of southern Missouri is seeing a big rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations at just the wrong time — as tourists eager to get out after being cooped up for a year make their way to popular destinations like Branson and Lake of the Ozarks.

Data from the state health department’s COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesday showed 206 people hospitalized with the virus in southwestern Missouri — nearly double the 111 hospitalizations from that region at the start of May. The number of people in intensive care units in the region has tripled — from 22 a month-and-a-half ago to 65 now. Meanwhile, statewide hospitalizations have remained steady since March.

Health experts cite two factors driving the surge: The presence of the faster-spreading Delta variant, and a reluctance among residents to get vaccinated.

While 52.6% of Americans have initiated vaccination, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most southern Missouri counties are well short of 40%. Branson sits in Taney and Stone counties, where the vaccination rates as of Wednesday were 27.4% and 28.4% respectively. Miller County, at Lake of the Ozarks, had a vaccination rate of 22.9%. ...

Other developments:

ST. LOUIS — Two of the largest employers in the St. Louis area have announced they will require employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by fall.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that BJC HealthCare and Washington University announced the vaccination requirements. The announcement comes at a time when demand for vaccines is waning in Missouri, a state that already lags the national average in COVID-19 immunization rate.

The St. Louis region’s three other major health systems — SSM Health, Mercy and St. Luke’s Hospital — have not issued vaccine requirements but say they were discussing the issue. ...

 RICHMOND, Va. — An inmate early release program aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus in Virginia prisons will end on July 1.

State prison officials have released more than 2,100 inmates early in the past year to reduce the prison population during the pandemic. The program was authorized under a budget amendment proposed by Gov. Ralph Northam and approved by state lawmakers in April 2020. The authorization expires on July 1.

Department of Corrections Director Harold Clarke says about 70% of the inmate population has been vaccinated against COVID-19. There are no current cases among the population. ...