Stories from Friday, March 20, 2020

SIKESTON — Daily coronavirus updates by county given by the Missouri Department of Health and Services early Friday listed Scott County as having one confirmed COVID-19 case. The Standard Democrat has confirmed this case listed in the state’s daily update is the one reported Wednesday by Saint Francis Healthcare System — not a new case in Scott County...

SIKESTON — Entertainment, and events for the 68th Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo were announced Friday, by 2020 Rodeo Chairman Travis Deere. The four-night event goes from Aug. 5-8 at the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo Grounds. Bullfighting, from Bull Fighters Only, takes center-stage on Thursday and Friday. Five, 60-second rounds of action take place each night, with a winner decided after the event on Friday...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A western Missouri woman in her 80s died from the coronavirus, health officials said Friday, marking the second death in the state. News of the woman’s death came on the same day that the number of COVID-19 cases in Missouri nearly doubled, to 47 from 28 a day earlier. The jump was largely attributable to private lab test results being reported to the state. Missouri’s first death, in Boone County, was announced Wednesday...

Everyone has been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Let’s make no mistake about that. There is one group of people impacted by all of this that’s tugging at my heart a bit this week, and that’s our high school seniors. Now, I know school districts will reevaluate the situation on April 3 — and I know this initial decision was not an easy one for our school administrators to make. ...

Yes, I would like to comment to the Speakout that military is socialism. I have no idea where this person got their opinion. I think they crawled out from under a rock. I spent over 20 years in the military. I do not consider it socialism and I do not have free medical. I have no idea where they got their information unless they were an unhappy draftee.

Less than three months ago came the first reports of cases of pneumonia related to a virus first detected in Wuhan, China. The outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruptions that have brought an unparalleled shock to the global economy...

U.S. stocks recovered from an early stumble and were headed higher in morning trading Friday, extending solid gains from a day earlier as Wall Street rounded out another turbulent week. If the gains hold they would mark the first back-to-back advance for the market in more than five weeks...

The Scripps National Spelling Bee won't be held as scheduled this year because of the coronavirus. Scripps announced its decision Friday morning, citing recommendations against large gatherings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the ongoing state of emergency in Maryland...

The death toll from the global pandemic surpassed 10,000 people worldwide and the effects of a global economy grinding to a halt because of the pandemic were beginning to show, from millions of unsold flowers rotting in piles in Kenya to the slow emptying of the world's skies...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's 40 million residents should stay home indefinitely and venture outside only for essential jobs, errands and some exercise, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, warning that the coronavirus threatens to overwhelm the state's medical system...

California's 40 million people were all but confined to their homes Friday in the nation's biggest lockdown yet, as America's governors watched with growing alarm as southern Europe buckled under the strain of the coronavirus outbreak. Gasping patients filled the wards of hospitals in Spain and Italy, and the global death toll surpassed 10,000, with the virus still multiplying and gaining footholds in new corners of the world...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Newscasts bring word of "hot zones" and "lockdowns." Conversations are littered with talk of "quarantines" and "isolation." Leaders urge "social distancing" and "sheltering in place" and "flattening the curve." In an instant, our vocabulary has changed — just like everything else...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. —Marilyn J. Riefler, 86, of Springfield, passed away at 5:05 a.m. Monday, March 16, 2020, at Regency Care in Springfield. She was born in Sikeston, Mo., June 23, 1933, the daughter of Charles F. and Ava (Joyce) Eaker. She married Edward Raymond Riefler in Sikeston on June 12, 1955, and he preceded her in death Oct. 16, 2007...

New York state moved to join California on Friday in ordering nearly all residents to stay in their homes, as governors undertook their most sweeping efforts yet to contain the coronavirus and fend off the kind of onslaught of patients that has caused southern Europe to buckle...

SIKESTON — Frankie Mae Jones Hicks, 76, died March 20, 2020, in Bonne Terre. Born July 27, 1943, in Sikeston, daughter of the late Frank and Mary Vera James Jones, she was a longtime resident of Sikeston and employed at Missouri Delta Medical Center for many years until her retirement and was a member of the Canalou Baptist Church...

SIKESTON — Southeast Missouri Food Bank has seen a tremendous increase in the demand for food following temporary layoffs and school closures following the outbreak of Covid-19. “Other places may be cutting back on their work hours or working from home, but at the food bank, we’re busier than ever,” said food bank Chief Executive Officer Joey Keys. ...

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — As precautionary measures and in the interest of public health, Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation, or DAEOC, will modify service delivery effective Monday. According to a news release from Scarlett Loomas, development administrator with DAEOC, all offices will be closed to the public until at least April 3 pursuant to CDC guidance...

SIKESTON — In response to the blood shortage, a blood drive will be held Tuesday from 3-7 p.m. at St. Francis Xavier Parish Center, located at 106 N. Stoddard in Sikeston. Please call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter:StFrancisXavierCatholicChurch to schedule an appointment...

The Dunklin County Health Department has been notified of the first positive case of COVID-19 in Dunklin County. The case is travel-related and the patient, a female in her seventies, is quarantined at home. Health Department staff are working in coordination with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to determine any close contacts of that individual who were possibly exposed. ...

SIKESTON – Deke Lape, an employee benefits consultant with Mitchell Insurance of Sikeston has been selected for the third-straight year to address the 17th Annual World Health Care Congress (WHCC) in Washington, D.C. “Deke Lape is widely recognized as a national leader in innovative NextGen Benefits strategies that are revolutionizing employee benefits,” said Nelson Griswold, chairman of the WHCC Benefits Adviser Leadership Track. ...