Cox South Closing COVID-19 Ward

The battle against the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a major turn to the good at Cox South.

CEO Steve Edwards announced on social media that the hospital will be vacating the specialized ward for COVID-19 patients, as the number of COVID infections has fallen below the number that can be handled by the hospital’s normal operations.

“This is a moment of celebration as we vacated the emergency COVID-19 ICU,” Edwards wrote. “Our number of COVID-19 patients at Cox South has dropped to 43, and only 5 critical. We are mindful of future worries, but for now, HERE COMES THE SUN!”

The special ward for COVID-19 patients, the use of which Edwards said in July he “never wanted to have happen,” took place on July 16, the same day the hospital announced positive tests for the virus in their hospital system had doubled over the previous two weeks.

Health leaders had been reporting a downtown of infections during the month of February, and Springfield-Greene County Health Department staff say the number of hospitalized patients in the county is around 70.