Possible coronavirus exposure closes Charleston R-1 school buildings

All Charleston R-1 School District buildings and offices will be closed through July 14 due to a potential COVID-19 exposure on June 30.

According to a statement from the District, the buildings and offices are being closed on recommendation of the Mississippi County Health Department. All building offices are set to reopen July 15 and any employee who needs to enter a district building during the closure must be cleared by Charleston R-1 Superintendent Jeremy Siebert ahead of time.

The potential exposure also has delayed the Neighborhood Food Delivery Program in Charleston. The program, which included drop point sites at Charleston High School (drive-thru), Anniston Post Office, Bertrand City Hall and Wyatt Junction Intersection, will be closed until July 15 as well.

The closures are just the most recent after a surge in COVID-19 cases took place in Cape Girardeau County and has trickled to other counties in the area.

The Cape Girardeau Public Health Center announced Friday afternoon coronavirus exposures may have occurred at Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center, and the facility has been closed.

A release from county health officials tracing contacts of a positive virus case determined exposure to the virus may have occurred during a range of days and times: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. June 25 and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 26 through Thursday.

A social media post on the city’s Parks and Recreation page for Cape Splash stated the exposure involved a part-time staff member.

A part-time staffer at Cape Girardeau SportsPlex was identified by health officials as possibly having exposed anyone who participated in activities there, and earlier last week, health center officials reported exposure to COVID-19 may have occurred June 25 through Thursday at D’ladiums sports bar in Cape Girardeau. Individuals who visited that location on those dates should monitor themselves for symptoms, officials said.

The Cape Jaycee Municipal Golf Course also reported on social media a part-time employee had tested positive and they used modified hours over the holiday weekend. The potential community exposure to COVID-19 occurred between June 27 and July 3.

Cape Girardeau County has seen a large increase in cases in the last week. On June 30, the health department reported 169 cases and Monday afternoon there were 258 confirmed positive cases with 143 active.

Due to the increase, the Cape Girardeau City Fireworks Display planned for Saturday was canceled.

The Scott County Health Department reports an increase of 10 cases since Friday. There were five new positives reported over the weekend with an additional three reported Monday and two Tuesday, giving the county 182 with 33 active.

Of the new cases, three were under the age of 19 and two between the ages of 20-29.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reports that Mississippi County has 95 positive cases. Of those the Missouri Department of Corrections reports 47 offenders at the Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston tested positive with only six remaining active. There were also 19 staff members who tested positive and only three of those cases remain active.

The New Madrid County Health Department is reporting 45 positive cases with eight of those active. There have been 37 residents released from isolation and one death.

The Stoddard County Public Health Center reported four additional cases late Monday afternoon, giving the county 142 positive cases. There are 17 active cases with 116 recovered and nine deaths.

The Dunklin County Health Department reported 110 confirmed cases on Tuesday morning, an increase of six since Thursday, with 23 active and 84 recovered. There have been three deaths.

The Pemiscot County Health Department has reported 114 positive cases Tuesday morning, an increase of three from Thursday, with four active and 104 released from isolation. There have been six deaths.

The DHSS reported an increase of 773 cases in Missouri Tuesday along with 14 deaths. To date, Missouri has 24,629 cases and 1,028 deaths.

— The Southeast Missourian contributed to this report.