Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

Unlike other parts of the country, new case growth in Kansas and Missouri has been slowly climbing since the middle of the summer.

State officials say COVID-19 hospitalizations in Missouri have been undercounted for several days.

With COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations near all-time highs, hospitals' capacities could be tested by surges in cases of the coronavirus, influenza and colds.

Testing data suggests that Missouri has been missing many cases in its counts.

Missouri's health department will no longer provide regular COVID-19 case and death updates via social media.

The main metro areas in Missouri are seeing coronavirus numbers that are stable and moving slowly. Much of the out-state region is experiencing a spike in cases.

"There's been a lot of water pass under the bridge" since Missouri set a spring 2020 deadline for getting sales off the ground, said the state official in charge.

Communities that had previously held out are adopting mask mandates but not soon enough to prevent rapid spreading, health experts say.

The head of the Missouri Health Department stands by his decision not to recommend statewide masks or social distancing policies, even as the federal government has designated the state a “red zone” for new coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, Kansas officials say hospital data may be delayed due to the sudden shift.

A multimillion dollar system purchased early in the pandemic has been used at a fraction of its capacity.

The Missouri Hospital Association says it is re-evaluating how to report hospital data publicly.