THURSDAY UPDATES: Morgan County Health Center reports two new COVID-19 related deaths

UPDATE 5:45 P.M.: The Morgan County Health Center is reporting the ninth and tenth deaths of Morgan County residents related to COVID-19.

According to the Morgan County dashboard, there are 16 new cases but a drop in active cases from 112 to 97.

The dashboard reports 34 new recoveries.

However there is two more people hospitalized going from 9 to 11.

Boone County COVID-19 hospitalizations hit record as CPS rate falls

UPDATE 5:20 P.M.: A COVID-19 case rate tracked by Columbia Public Schools continued to fall Thursday.

The number of new COVID-19 cases over 14 days per 10,000 people in the district fell nearly a full point to 37.7 Thursday. The number has been on a steady decline since peaking at 91.4 on Sept. 7.

District administrators set the benchmark for getting students back in classrooms part-time at 50. The district first went below that rate Sept. 21.

The Columbia Board of Education will discuss a return to classrooms with CPS officials on Tuesday. CPS leaders plan to make a formal recommendation to the board on Oct. 12.

CPS Superintendent Peter Stiepleman said at a special board meeting last week that the district would likely look to resume in-person classes the week after the board approves a plan.

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 38 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, continuing the trend that has pushed down the rate CPS tracks. The department reported 328 active cases in Boone County and 1,354 people in quarantine because of exposure to novel coronavirus.

However, health officials reported a record 71 patients with COVID-19 in Boone County hospitals. Of those, 20 are in intensive care and nine are on ventilators.

The state and the Central Missouri region are also reporting record hospitalizations.

Boone County health director extends COVID-19 order

UPDATE 4:20 P.M.: The director of the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services on Thursday extended the current COVID-19 order, which had been set to expire Tuesday.

The new order continues restrictions already in effect without changes, including a requirement that bars and restaurants that serve alcohol close at 10:30 p.m. The order also limits groups at restaurants and bars to 10 people, closes dance floors and requires people to eat or drink while seated.

The new order also keeps in place requirements that people wear masks when they cannot socially distance in Columbia.

The order expires Oct. 20 unless it is again extended.

The health department said in a news release that new COVID-19 case numbers have stabilized in Boone County but hospitalizations hit a new record Thursday at 71.

"The data supports the measures we are keeping in place," Boone County Health Director Stephanie Browning said in the release. "We feel that these measures, along with continued education, enforcement and daily evaluation of data, have helped ensure cases don’t rise dramatically and strain local resources."

The extension of the order will allow the county to prepare for the extra strain on resources that will come when orders are lifted entirely, Browning said.

Boone County's new daily cases have stayed well below 100 since an early September surge led to several days of triple-digit increases.

Cases have also fallen dramatically on the University of Missouri campus after large numbers of cases in the college-age group helped drive large increases in early September. As of Wednesday, MU reported 78 active cases in students tested in Boone County.

The release said Columbia's city code requires the city council to ratify any orders that last more than 21 days. The city council will meet and vote on the order Monday.

Missouri COVID-19 hospitalizations continue at record levels

UPDATE 2:20 P.M.: Missouri reported nearly 1,800 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, an increase of about 450 over Wednesday's new cases.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 1,799 new cases for a total of 127,912 since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The state reported 10 more deaths for a total of 2,128.

Cases have continued their upward trend seen throughout the summer into the fall. Meanwhile, hospitalizations statewide for COVID-19 continue to break records.

Data posted on the state's COVID-19 dashboard show Missouri had the seventh-most COVID-19 cases between Sept. 22 and Monday. The positivity rate during that period was 14.1%, a jump of half a point from the number reported Wednesday. Health experts say rates of 10% or above show large-scale spread of the novel coronavirus.

Missouri was No. 9 during that period for most deaths among the states.

The seven-day average of statewide hospitalizations has been climbing throughout the summer and hit 1,150 on Wednesday. The number of available intensive care beds statewide is on the way down.

Hospitalizations in the state's central region are also on their way up, setting new records each of the past five days. The state reported the seven-day average of hospitalizations in the region hit 104 on Wednesday.

Several Mid-Missouri counties are recording high positivity rates, according to the state health department. The highest is in Morgan County, where 32.37% of people tested for COVID-19 over the most recent seven-day period. State rate reporting works on a 72-hour delay.

Moniteau County recorded a 25.77% rate while Randolph County came in at 23.63%.

Miller County reports 7th COVID-19 death

UPDATE 10:32 A.M.: The Miller County Health Center says a seventh county resident has died from COVID-19.

The Thursday morning release on the center's Facebook page said no additional information about the person would be released.

Health officials said the county has reported 564 cases of COVID-19, 67 of which were active as of Thurdsay. County data said 490 have recovered from coroonavirus.

The post said 29 people were in the because of COVID-19.

Miller County reported three virus-related deaths between Sept. 16-21.

Randolph County Health Department warns of COVID-19 exposure at Moberly sports bar

Randolph County health officials warned residents about possible exposure to COVID-19 at Lucky's Last Resort in Moberly.

The release from the health department said a person who tested positive for coronavirus was at the sports bar between 3-8:30 p.m. on Saturday.

A post on the bar's Facebook page said the business owner tested positive for COVID-19 but has been asymptomatic.

The post said the business owner has since entered isolation.

Lucky's Last Resort staff are monitoring themselves for signs of coronavirus.