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St. Louis reported a 15.6 percent increase in COVID cases in the past week, with the daily average at 389 cases, according to a news release on Thursday from the St. Louis County Health Department.
The rapidly spreading Omicron variant is responsible for less than 1 percent of samples sequenced in Missouri so far, state Health Department spokeswoman Lisa Cox said.
"We assume it is here in our communities, and prevalence of Omicron among samples being sequenced is highly likely in the coming days and weeks—it's just not showing up yet," Cox said.
St. Louis County officials also said in the release that they think the Omicron variant is spreading "because of the sharp increase in new cases."
There were 593 new COVID cases recorded in St. Louis County on Tuesday and 774 on Wednesday, the biggest total in one day since January.
"The community is not as safe as it was a month ago, and you should consider that as you plan your activities," the St. Louis County Health Department said in the release.
The department also advised masks, vaccinations and booster shots, as well avoidance of travel and gatherings.
Earlier this month, a St. Louis resident became Missouri's first confirmed case of the Omicron variant. Omicron has also been found in low levels in wastewater samples collected from treatment facilities in Jackson County and St. Joseph this month. Another wastewater report is due Friday.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also on the rise statewide, topping more than 2,000 this week, state data shows. That's twice as many as in early November, but still well below peak hospitalization levels from last winter and the Delta-driven summer surge.
Steve Edwards, the CEO of CoxHealth in Springfield, tweeted this week that 95 percent of the patients are unvaccinated and none of them had a booster.
"Holiday gatherings will drive spread," he said, urging vaccinations. "Stay safe, we continue to lose patients who falsely believed their immune system was strong enough."
North Kansas City Hospital, which has seen its cases quadruple since last month, announced on Friday that it was canceling in-person classes starting on January 3 in an effort to protect the community.
Dr. James Stewart, the hospital's chief medical officer, said on a call with reporters last week that the hospital could beat its previous peak if the rise continues at the same pace.
"We are short on beds," he said. "We are short on staff, and it's going to be tough."
Even as cases rise, many communities have been dropping mask requirements. The Springfield school district, which is the largest in the state, was the latest, announcing Wednesday that its mask mandate would end immediately. The district had planned to remove its mask mandate sometime in January but said that state Attorney General Eric Schmitt's legal threats forced its timeline to move up, the Springfield News-Leader reported.
Schmitt, a Republican, tweeted that the decision was a "huge win" for Springfield students. The district, however, said masks would still be "strongly encouraged."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
