This seems to be the answer to the periodic sharp increases in the Missouri Covid death rate, it is caused by the way the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services collects and releases their data.
This paragraph from
KSDK News explains it:
"The state also reported 177 new COVID-19-related deaths for a cumulative total of 4,006. Of those 177 new deaths, 138 were recently linked to COVID-19 through the state's weekly check of death certificates, which tends to result in
a sharp increase in deaths reported on Tuesdays. Twenty-five of the 138 deaths occurred in October and 113 were in November."
This is corroborated by looking back at past reporting on previous Tuesdays. For example, on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 they show
146 deaths.
On Tuesday, November 17, 2020 they show
67 deaths.
On Tuesday, November 24, 2020 they show
189 deaths.
And today Tuesday, December 1, 2020 they show
177 deaths.