HIGGINSVILLE – More needs to be done – perhaps a monetary incentive – to curb the spread of COVID-19, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II said last week during a visit to Higginsville. The Ray County Health Department reported that, as of July 8, the county death toll had increased to 29, up three, or 11.5%, since this newspaper’s last report, June 25. The number of deaths in Clay County stands at 326, up eight, or 2.5%. The more infectious and deadly Delta variant is surging in Missouri, particularly in the state’s conservative south. The variant is a greater threat to younger people than the original form of COVID, based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who have received COVID vaccinations have less chance of contracting the variant than unvaccinated people. “The vast majority of reinfections that have occurred have been mild. Immunity from a previous infection does provide some level of protection...