ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Two staff members at St. Louis area facilities have become the first Missouri Mental Health Department employees to die from COVID-19 meanwhile, we're getting word of a COVID outbreak at the State Prison in Bonne Terre.
The staffers who died earlier this month worked at the South County Habilitation Center and the St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center. Department Spokeswoman Debra Walker tells KMOX both worked closely with patients, but they had not been at work for some time.
The south county employee had worked there 13 years, the psychiatric rehab center employee had just marked one year on the job.
Meanwhile, nearly two dozen staff and inmates at the prison in Bonne Terre have tested positive. St. Francois County Health Center Director Amber Elliott tells us this comes after all 2,986 staff and inmates were tested.
Elliott says all 2,986 staff and inmates have been tested, but they're still waiting for more than 1,600 results from those tests.
The prison is following pandemic guidelines and is working with health officials to prevent further spread of the illness, according to the Associated Press. The prison is currently closed to visitors.
Across the state, the number of coronavirus cases rose Friday to 17,201, up 293 from Thursday. The number of deaths rose by two to 948, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.