FRIDAY UPDATES: Active coronavirus cases drop for the second day in a row in Boone County
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 77 new COVID-19 cases.
There are currently 693 active cases in the county, a decrease of 30 from Thursday. The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 21,501.
The county reported 20,685 cases removed from isolation.
Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are down 5.2%% on the week. The county has a 12.8% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The positivity rate is up for the previous week of July 30 through Thursday to 32.2.
The health department's hospital status remains in yellow, with 108 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 27 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 37 are in intensive care and 22 are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 97,308 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 85,501 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses. Boone County has the largest percentage of county residents in Mid-Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 54%. The second closest county in the state is St. Louis County with 52.6%.
Boone County is first in the state with a reported 47.5% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the second county in the state with 46% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 45.8%. Montgomery County is third with 41.1%.
Cole County reports fewest number of new COVID-19 cases this week; 407 total new cases reported this week
The Cole County Health Department reported 31 new coronavirus cases. The county reported 52 this weeks cases are breakthrough infections.
According to the dashboard update, there have been 31 new cases in the county, bringing the total to 9,626 resident cases and a total of 280 cases for long-term care facility residents. That brings a total of 9,906 total cases in the county. Cole County was named a COVID-19 hot spot, along with Osage County, a week ago by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The county is currently reporting 128 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic started, the most in Mid-Missouri. The county reported two coronavirus-related deaths this week. The 128 deaths are the most in Mid-Missouri.
Cole County ranks sixth in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are up 1.6% on the week. The county has an 18.1% positive test rate, according to the DHSS.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 39.7% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
Callaway County reports over 500 active coronavirus cases
The Callaway County Health Department reported 89 new coronavirus cases in their weekly update.
The county was added as a coronavirus hot spot by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Thursday. According to DHSS, an average of 191+ people have been hospitalized in the region over the last week. As a result, several hospitals in the region are at or near capacity. Continued disease spread into Central Missouri is expected.
The county is also reporting two new coronavirus-related deaths. That brings the total to 48.
According to the dashboard update, there have been a total of 501 cases in the county. That brings a total of 4,932 total cases in the county.
Callaway County ranks eighth in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are up 1.1% on the week. The county has an 18.7% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 33.8% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated. Experts say at least 70% - 80% of people need immunity to minimize spread within a community.
Gov. Parson announces additional mutual aid ambulances for hospitals across the state
Missouri is tripling the number of mutual aid ambulances that provide long-haul patient transfers to help reduce the rising COVID-19 caseloads straining hospitals according to a Gov. Mike Parson announcement Friday.
The state has scheduled the use 30 ambulances and more than 60 trained personnel in the five regions of the state beginning Friday. The ambulance teams will be in Regions A (Kansas City area), B (northeast Missouri), D (southwest Missouri), G (south-central Missouri), and H (northwest Missouri) and have the ability to move as needed.
“The ambulance strike teams we positioned in Springfield have been extremely effective in helping save lives and ease the pressure on local hospitals,” Governor Parson said. “These 30 new ambulance teams triple our transport capacity and expand it to the entire state, as needed. Our health care professionals are performing heroically to save lives as the Delta variant dramatically increases hospital admissions. We will continue to support our health care heroes across the state.”
The new ambulance strike teams, provided in response to a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, include 20 advanced life-support ambulances, five basic life-support ambulances, five specialty care ambulances, and required medical and support personnel. They are expected to begin transporting patients as early as Saturday. The teams are tasked with operating anywhere there is a critical need in Missouri through Sept. 5.
“Delta is the most aggressive and transmissible variant of COVID-19, and it is more important than ever to take advantage of the highly effective vaccines,” Governor Parson said. “Vaccination is the best way to prevent serious illness from COVID-19."
JC Schools releases fall reentry plan but holds off on mask decision
The Jefferson City School District released its fall reentry plans Friday morning. However, the district is waiting until the week prior to the first day of school before making a decision on whether to require masks for staff and students.
"The mask requirement for staff and students was lifted for the last two weeks of summer school and we were hopeful we would be able to begin the school year without a mask requirement," Superintendent Dr. Larry Linthacum said in a letter to families. "However, with the recent trend of new positive cases in our community and everything we are learning about the transmissibility of the Delta variant, we do not feel comfortable making a final decision on masks at this time."
JCSD plans to announce by Aug. 16 whether students and staff will be required to wear masks in school buildings.
The district's plans for the 2021-2022 school year include seven key priorities: increased sanitation efforts, social distancing, staff and student screening measures, personal protective equipment (PPE), limits on visitors, virtual education options and procedures for positive cases.
Some rules that were in place last year will be removed or modified for this school year.
According to the reentry plan, some schools will allow students to eat meals in the cafeteria again. Students will once again be able to go on field trips and move out of primary classrooms for specials such as PE and music.
However, those changes come with safety precautions. Students will remain in small groups and cohorts for lunches and specials, and seating charts will be used for classes, meals, and buses.
When it comes to screening measures, JC Schools says it will no longer monitor thermal cameras or scan temperatures in car lines. The district says the cameras will still notify staff if they catch a temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
JCSD's plan includes continued use of Launch, an online education platform the district used last school year. Virtual learners will still be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities if they meet MSHSAA requirements.
The district says it will also continue conducting contact tracing investigations when a student or staff member contracts COVID-19. If a close contact cannot prove they either have been fully vaccinated or are immune, they will be required to quarantine.
According to the reentry plan, non-essential visitors and parents will not be allowed in school buildings. Essential visitors will be required to wear masks while in school buildings.
Masks will continue to be required on buses for students and staff.
You can read the full reentry plan below.
Missouri COVID-19 hospitalizations surpass 2,100
Coronavirus hospitalizations continue to climb in the Show-Me State, with the latest data showing 2,125 people were in Missouri hospitals on Tuesday.
Tuesday's hospitalizations were the highest recorded in the state since Jan. 21, according to the state health dashboard.
The number of patients in the ICU dropped by five statewide. The count of 634 patients receiving intensive care for the virus on Tuesday is just 51 below Missouri's peak in December.
For the third day in a row, state health officials recorded more than 20 deaths in 24 hours. The dashboard showed an additional 21 new deaths Friday morning, bringing the pandemic's death toll up to 9,819.
New confirmed cases dropped below 3,000 Friday. Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services recorded 2,548 additional confirmed cases, bringing the total to 583,415.
The state health dashboard also reported 709 new probable COVID-19 cases. In total, 113,654 probable cases have been discovered through antigen testing.
The seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate remained high Friday morning, though it dropped slightly to 15%.
