Adair County hit a one-day record of 19 cases of COVID-19 yesterday. The county’s case count rose sharply to 594. There are now 81 active cases and 531 people who have left isolation. As of yesterday, there had been 78 confirmed cases within the last seven days. Six of the new cases are in the higher education sector, two are in the K-12 schools sector, and one is an area meat-processing plant employee. Five cases are located at addresses with previously confirmed cases. Two Adair County residents are at Northeast Regional Medical Center. Neither requires a ventilator. A 59-year-old female was admitted October 26th and a 50-year-old female was admitted October 27th.

Kirkville R-III Schools announced yesterday that they learned a staff member tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. It is believed the virus was not contracted as part of school interactions. The contract tracing was completed and all the students and staff affected by close contact exposure have been notified. Since this is an elementary classroom the entire classroom of students are being quarantined. Additionally, as a result of collegial contact, four teachers and two paraprofessionals will quarantine for fourteen days.

As election day nears, County Clerk offices in Northeast Missouri are making sure everyone gets the opportunity to vote.

The Macon County Clerk is setting up drive by voting to give those on isolation & quarantine an opportunity to vote, while helping maintain the health and safety of the community and voting officials. This drive up voting will take place on Sunday November 1 at the Macon County Courthouse, and is by appointment only. Call the Macon County Clerk’s office by 2 pm today at 660-385-2913 Option 2.

In Schuyler County, those who are quarantined due to COVID should call the office as soon as possible so arrangements can be made for you to vote. That number is 660-956-9078.

Today is Steve Farnsworth Day in the City of Kirksville. In a ceremony at the Kirksville Police Station yesterday morning, Mayor Zac Burden made the proclamation to honor the legacy of former Chief of Police, Steve Farnsworth, whose life and career ended too soon on October 11th. Today would have been Chief Farnsworth’s fifty-eighth birthday. He served the Kirksville community with honor and distinction as a member of the City’s Police Department for over thirty-four years, beginning as a patrol officer and working in many roles and ranks throughout his career. He was appointed the City’s Chief of Police on June 3, 2019. As part of the proclamation, Mayor Burden encouraged all citizens of Kirksville to live by Chief Farnsworth’s example of positive community engagement by identifying and following through with an act of personal kindness for others in the city.

There were 17 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed yesterday in Adair County. That brings the total case count to 575. There are 76 active cases and 499 people out of isolation. Four of the new cases are in the higher education sector and two are in the K-12 schools sector. Ten of the cases reside at addresses where at least one other case has been confirmed.

While cases continue to rise in Adair County, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Missouri National Guard are returning to the NEMO Fairgrounds from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Monday, Nov. 9, for another drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic. Testing is free to any Missouri resident and you do not have to be exhibiting any symptoms of COVID-19 to be tested. The method is a self-administered simple PCR test in which people insert the swab into their own nose. Results should be available within three to five days. Register at www.health.mo.gov/communitytest.

Almost 2 million rapid COVID-19 tests are on the way to Missouri from the federal government. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the antigen tests, created by Abbott, are part of the Trump Administration’s comprehensive national effort to fight the COIVD-19 pandemic. The rapid point-of-care tests can diagnose infection from the coronavirus in as little as 15 minutes. The tests will be distributed at the discretion of Governor Mike Parson to support testing K-12 students, teachers, nursing home patients and staff, higher education, critical infrastructure, first responders and other priorities as he deems fit. The state plans to deploy 60% of their test allotment to support K-12 school testing programs, 30% to institutes of higher education and 10% of tests are likely to be retained for state priorities.

There was an accident on a slick bridge yesterday morning in Adair County. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports that 57-year-old Steven Gelski, of Linneus, was on the US-63 Bypass, just south of Kirksville at around 9:30 a.m. when he lost control of his 2005 Buick LeSabre on an ice covered bridge, ran off the left side of the road, and impacted the bridge. Both Gelski, and his passenger, Clifford White of Linneus, received minor injuries. Kirksville Police, Kirksville Fire and Rescue, and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.

With eight new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Adair County yesterday, the total count is 558. There are 59 active cases and 499 people have left isolation. The cases involve females ages 1, 3, 25, 26, 33 and 38, and males ages 14 and 56. All of the cases are attributed to community spread with one of them in the K-12 schools sector. Three of yesterday’s cases are in households with at least one other confirmed case.

The first blast of winter weather is here for portions of Northeast Missouri – including Kirksville. A winter weather advisory is in effect until 1 tomorrow morning. The National Weather Service says snow with some mixed precipitation is expected. Total snow accumulations of one to two inches and ice accumulations of a light glaze. Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute.