Joplin city officials speaking at the city’s monthly Covid 19 update were optimistic that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is behind them. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

New cases of the coronavirus in Joplin have slowed to a trickle. Just in the past two weeks, according to the Covid 19 dashboard at Allthings missouri.org, cases are down more than 35% in the city. Meanwhile, vaccination rates in Joplin are exceeding the rest of Missouri. Joplin Health Director Ryan Talken on Monday, “Vaccination rates. The statewide average is about 24%, of the state population has initiated one vaccine. Joplin numbers, we are at about 31%. So we’re above the statewide average.”

In the past week in Missouri, the state has experienced a 6% decline in the number of new cases, although nationally, states are reporting a 7% increase. Talken says that he didn’t know what the mixed data would mean for the long-term and if Southwest Missouri was likely to a rise in cases after spring break.