St. Louis County is experiencing its worst COVID surge since the pandemic began, averaging more than 1,500 new cases a day. 

County Executive Sam Page said Monday in his first press conference of 2022 that a mask mandate would be proposed at the Jan. 4 County Council meeting – after The Call went to press – to combat the rise. 

“So where are we in this third day of a new year in the third year of a very stubborn virus? We’re in a place we’ve not seen since the pandemic began,” Page said. “Our healthcare workers are begging people to get vaccinated and wear masks.” 

Testing provided by the county used to be available on a walk-in basis, but appointments are now required due to the increase in cases, most likely attributable to the Omicron variant. Appointments are available through the county health department at revivestl.com. 

The St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, made up of the region’s four major hospital systems, issued a statement Dec. 31 criticizing Gov. Mike Parson’s decision not to extend the state’s emergency public health order into the new year. The emergency order provided healthcare systems the ability to expand services to care for more sick patients, according to the task force. 

As of Dec. 31, the county had a testing percent positivity rate of 15.5 percent with a seven-day COVID case rate of 463.8 per 100,000 people.