Number of Joplin residents hospitalized with COVID-19 grows, Mercy, Freeman now have 45 patients

The number of Joplin people hospitalized due to COVID-19 had remained at two or three for a considerable amount of time, but that number is up to seven, according to statistics posted Friday on the city's COVID-19 dashboard.

The latest statistics also show the combined number of coronavirus patients at Mercy and Freeman hospitals at 45 or about 75 percent of the estimated capacity those facilities have for handling COVID-19 patients before having to consider transferring them somewhere else.

The number of confirmed cases in Joplin is at 622 with 98 active cases and 162 people under quarantine.