Health officials warn of Dark Winter

Coronavirus pandemic continues to rage across the entire nation.

We spoke with one area health official who says the next four weeks are critical.and if we fail -- there will be deadly consequences.here's kq2's madeline mcclain with more.

<<kq2's madeline mcclain reportingblair shock, clinton county health dept: "we may be entering the darkest winter of our lifetimes in terms of death, in terms of human suffering, that we will ever see."3,340 deaths cases -- 4,600 in the last 24-hours.2,250 people hospitalized.blair shock, clinton county health dept: "unfortunately we in public health feel the public's reaction has been disturbingly cavalier."the clinton county health department head says his team can no longer keep up...blair shock, clinton county health dept: this week we hit the point where we are not able to investigate new cases in a timely manner so our goal is to always have new cases called within 24-hours of receiving the report.

We are not able to do that.

We are running 3-4 days behind at this point.a 3-4 day delay has serious consequences when people don't understand everything they need to do to keep from exacerbating the problem.and it's not just clinton county clinton county health dept: every county in missouri is currently overwhelmed with new cases.

We have basically uncontrolled community spread ongoing throughout the state of missouri.the weight of the pandemic crushing missouri hospitals, doctors and nurses....blair shock, clinton county health dept: we all feel like we are drowning in new cases and are unable to reach the surface and draw a fresh breath.the governor making his most urgent plea yet for personal responsibility....gov.

Mike parson, r-missouri: "we can't keep expecting the hospitals to meet the demand.

It's not about ventilators, it's not about icu beds.

Frankly it's about having enough staff to meet the situation at hand that's why this is so important as we move forward.

We all have to take a different action."particularly taking aim at the people using "freedom" as a defense of their actions.gov.

Mike parson, r-missouri: "the reality of it is we can't keep going at the pace we are going and can't keep doing the same old things we've been doing.

I've protected freedom throughout this year, i protected in my campaign and the majority of people believed in what i'm saying but i'm here to tell missourians this, it's time we gotta step up."the call for selfless action -- echoed by the clinton county health department.saying it's time for people to realize this effects, everyone.blair shock, clinton county health dept: whether you're in a traffic accident, whether you have the flu, or have a heart attack or stroke is dependent upon the staffing resources available, those hospital beds being available, the equipment being available, and we are very quickly approaching the point where we move from regular standard of care to the crisis standard of care where they began rationing care based on how likely it is that a patient will survive.

That's not something we have ever seen in missouri, in our lifetimes and it's not winter yet."reporting in cameron, madeline mcclain kq2 news.>> clinton county currently has 679 confirmed covid-19 cases and 66 residents hospitalized due to the virus.at least 32 of the 39 county deaths were residents at cameron veterans home.