St. Louis Department of Health

Three years into the COVID pandemic, some St. Louis-area hospitals have decided to drop mask requirements, citing decreased infection levels.

The St. Louis Department of Health will soon hire 14 new staff members to create the bureau, which will address the lack of treatment options for drug addiction and mental health problems.

St. Louis is arguing the law cited in a lawsuit by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt violates the First Amendment and the supremacy clause.

Two dozen cases of monkeypox have been reported in Missouri, with about one-third of those cases in St. Louis. While the state’s case count is much lower than in Illinois, New York and other states with higher populations, health officials are trying to keep the virus from spreading through education and prevention.

St. Louis health officials have reported the city’s first probable case of monkeypox. The case has not been confirmed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the CDC has recently confirmed three cases of monkeypox in Missouri.

The St. Louis and St. Louis County health departments are urging people who are pregnant to get tested for syphilis so they do not pass it to their children. Missouri last year reported the highest number of congenital syphilis cases in the state since 1994.

St. Louis is seeing rising numbers of coronavirus cases, and the city’s health director is again considering recommending public health measures, including mask requirements, to protect people from the virus.

Health officials say people in the St. Louis region should expect to live with the threat of the coronavirus. To help, the St. Louis and St. Louis County health departments have released “Living With COVID-19," a plan for people, businesses and government agencies.

Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, St. Louis' health director, on Monday told the Board of Aldermen’s Health and Human Services Committee that city officials could drop mask requirements, given new CDC guidance. But Hlatshwayo Davis said she would continue to recommend that people wear a mask indoors.

The peak of the omicron wave was three times higher than last winter’s surge, despite the widespread availability of vaccines.