Cole, Boone counties report new COVID-19 cases

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Cole County Health Department said Friday that a third person has tested positive for COVID-19 in the county, while authorities said the number in Boone County had climbed to 10.

Officials announced the new positive cases Friday afternoon in news releases and online. Boone County officials tweeted at 5 p.m. that 10 people in the county have tested positive, up from eight Friday morning.

The announcement did not include any details about the new Boone County cases.

Cole County officials said they would release no personal information about their third case. The release did not include the patient's age, gender or place of residence. The department said it is working to ensure the patient stays isolated and to identify people who came in contact with the infected person.

Cole County Health Department Director Kristi Campbell said the case was tied to travel inside the United States.

Boone County health authorities said in a tweet Friday morning that they would update numbers twice daily going forward.

Boone County on Wednesday recorded the state's first COVID-19 related death -- a person in their 60s believed to have contracted the disease through international travel.

Gov. Mike Parson in an update Friday morning said 47 positive cases of novel coronavirus have been identified statewide. That number included only three Boone County cases and two Cole County cases. Nearly 400 people had been tested statewide.

William Woods University in Fulton closed its campus Friday after a student tested positive for COVID-19 at a drive-thru testing site in Columbia on Thursday.

All public schools statewide have closed and health authorities in several locations, including Boone and Cole counties, have implemented rules restricting crowd sizes. Cole County on Thursday also limited eateries to carry-out, drive-thru and curbside pickup sales.

Check back for more on this developing story.