TUESDAY UPDATES: Several local counties report small COVID-19 increases; cases jump 13 in Pettis
UPDATE 6:05 P.M.: Pettis County logged 13 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, the second-highest increase in the region behind only Boone County's 14 new cases.
The new cases brought Pettis County's total to 185. Active cases only went up two to 51 as some recoveries offset the new cases.
Several counties recorded small increases in their COVID-19 case counts on Tuesday.
Cole County added two cases to reach 153. However, the number of active cases decreased one, settling at 51. The county reported two new cases Monday, as well, after setting its record with 15 on Sunday.
Callaway County reported one new case to reach 62 and one fewer active case to reach 13.
Montgomery County added two cases to reach 27. Active cases remained at six.
Cooper County recorded one new case, bringing its total to 31. Ten of those cases are active.
UPDATED 4:50 P.M.: Moniteau County reported its second death from COVID-19 Tuesday, while Boone County logged only 14 new cases.
The Moniteau County Health Center reported the death on its Facebook page.
The patient who died was a person in his or her 60s who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on June 29, the health center reported.
The county was a hot spot for the novel coronavirus early in the pandemic but has since slowed its growth in cases. The health center last updated COVID-19 totals Monday, reporting 78 cases with 13 active cases.
Boone County new cases decline
Boone County's new daily cases have continued to fall since reaching a record Saturday.
The county reported 14 new cases Tuesday to reach 777. Daily totals have fallen since Saturday's record of 53, with only nine new cases recorded Monday.
Boone County's number of active cases stayed steady dropped one to reach 317. The county initially reported the number as 318 but later revised the total. The number of people in quarantine because they've been in close contact with confirmed cases shrank by nine to reach 520.
The lower numbers over the past few days have provided a short break from quick growth in cases over several weeks. The county recorded 249 cases last week.
The jump in cases has prompted health officials to extend the county's current reopening phase and the Columbia City Council to approve a mask requirement.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Health and Human Services online information hub showed 26 people hospitalized in Boone County with COVID-19 on Tuesday -- a marked increase in a number that was recently in the single digits. Ten of those patients are Boone County residents.
However, Boone County's hospitals report no shortages in staff, equipment of beds.
With the smaller new case numbers, the county's five-day rolling average of new daily cases fell to 27.6 on Tuesday from Saturday's record of 42.2. The average was 11.2 on July 1.
UPDATED 2:40 P.M.: Missouri’s COVID-19 cases made a record jump of more than 900 on Tuesday after a three-day reprieve from large increases.
The state Department of Health and Senior Services reported 936 new cases Tuesday to reach 28,826. The state reported 10 new deaths to reach 1,093.
The previous record of 795 new cases was set last Thursday.
The record increase Tuesday followed three days with new case numbers below 500, a short break from the climbing infections the state has seen as temperatures have warmed and people have gotten out more.
State and local health officials have said the increases are being fueled in part by young people getting together in groups. Columbia and Boone County health officials issued a warning Monday about “COVID parties” – rumored gatherings where people purposely expose themselves to COVID-19.
Watch Gov. Mike Parson hold his COVID-19 briefing at 3 p.m. in the player below.
No information has been released publicly about such gatherings taking place in Columbia but health officials have warned of exposures at bars and restaurants where they claim social distancing was not being practiced.
Cases statewide have increased nearly 7 percent in the past week, the state health department reported on its COVID-19 online hub. About 505,000 Missourians have been tested for COVID-19 and 5.5 percent have been positive, according to state data.
Case numbers have increased statewide but several Mid-Missouri counties are in the top 10 for case growth, according to the state health department – Macon, Osage, Randolph and Cooper.
State hospitalizations are approaching peak levels. The state dashboard was updated Monday to show 932 hospitalizations. That data is delayed 72 hours.
The peak for hospitalizations, according to dashboard data, was 984 on May 5.
Health officials say hospitalizations is a more telling number than total cases because it illustrates the amount of strain COVID-19 is placing on the health care system. Thus far Missouri's health care providers have not reported shortages in capacity.
ORIGINAL: The Missouri Department of Corrections said staff and inmate COVID-19 cases at state prisons have increased.
According to prison data, at least 234 inmates and 69 prison workers have tested positive for coronavirus. Inmate cases have increased by at least 79, and staff cases rose by 12 since June 30.
The department of corrections website said 94 inmates have recovered, 140 others had active cases as of Tuesday. It added 28 prison workers had recovered, 48 have active cases.
The same prison data said 18 out of the state's 22 prisons had workers or inmates test positive for COVID-19. Five more prisons have added cases since June 30.
Algoa Correctional Center in Jefferson City was among the prisons that added a coronavirus case.
The corrections data said six prisons in Mid-Missouri confirmed coronavirus cases. The prisons included were in Tipton, Vandalia, Boonville, two in Fulton and one Jefferson City.
The website said mass COVID-19 testing was completed at eight prisons including Algoa and Women's Eastern Receptions, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia.
Algoa is one of three facilities that allowed inmates to receive visits. It's unclear if visiting hours will be restricted since an inmate tested positive for COVID-19.
Corrections officials said in a statement on July 1 that visits were canceled recently at Chillicothe Correctional Center after a combination of three inmates and staff tested positive. Since the announcement, COVID-19 cases at the facility have increased to 49.
State officials were not immediately available to provide information about the increase in cases at the prisons Tuesday morning.
