FRIDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports 41 new coronavirus cases; active cases jump to 373

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 41 new COVID-19 cases.

There are currently 373 active cases in the county, an increase of 20 from Thursday. The county now has a reported total number of 25,147 COVID-19 cases.

The county reported 24,608 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 21 from Thursday.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 1% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 7.7% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 59 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 16 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 14 are in intensive care and six are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 100,855  residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 91,281 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses.

Boone County has the third-largest percentage of county residents in Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 55.9%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 59.3%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 50.6% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 53.2% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 56.5% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 49.8%. Callaway County is third with 45.6%.

The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.

The district reported a 28.5 14-day rate per 10,000 for Friday.

CPS reports six district facilities (two elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and two district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There are two staff at elementary, one staff member at the high school level, and two staff at district-wide facilities that have tested positive for the coronavirus. The district has two staff members at district-wide facility currently quarantined because of COVID.

The district reports 30 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 20 out of 21 elementary, five out of seven middle schools, all high schools and one district-wide facility affected.

There are 37 students that have tested positive for COVID-19, a decrease of one cases from Thursday. The district is reporting 20 students in elementary, 10 students in middle school and seven students in high school have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 196 students, which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus, an increase of 13 students from Thursday. The district reports 126 elementary students are currently quarantining, 62 students in middle school, eight students in high school and one at other district facilities.

Cole County reports 12 new coronavirus cases

The Cole County Health Department reported 12 new coronavirus cases.

According to the dashboard update, there are 11,049 residential cases and 286 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,335 total cases in the county. The county reported 40 cases total this week with 18 of them considered breakthrough cases.

Cole County has reported 163 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began. The two deaths reported this week occurred in the month of September.

Cole County ranks 87th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are down 40% comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 4.8% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 49.8% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 45.6% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported no new coronavirus cases in students or staff for Thursday.

The district is reporting seven active cases in students and no active cases in staff.

The district is reporting 22 close contacts for students and one close contact for staff.

Lincoln University to require masks only in classroom spaces beginning Monday

Beginning Monday, Lincoln University will change its mask policy to be required in classroom spaces only.

The rest of campus will be mask optional based on personal preference and health needs.

Officials cite the decline in cases on campus and statewide.

However, cases will see be monitored to look for trends and reserve the right to change its mask policy again according to a release.

Capital Region relaxes visitor restrictions

Capital Region Medical Center said Friday that it will now allow two visitors per patient during visiting hours from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Like other hospitals, Capital Region had strict restrictions on visitors for much of the coronavirus pandemic to keep the virus out of the facility. However, coronavirus case rates are dropping locally and nationwide. Cole County reported 12 new coronavirus cases Friday and no new deaths. New cases have plummeted 40% there over the past week, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Visitation is still off-limits for COVID-19 patients unless special exceptions are granted, the hospital said. Two visitors will be allowed with clinic patients but the ICU and emergency room will only allow one visitor per patient.

Visitors will be screened for coronavirus symptoms and must wear masks, the hospital said.

The hospital had five coronavirus patients on Friday.

State health department reports more than 1,400 new cases of COVID-19

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services added more than 1,400 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.

According to data from the state health department, 1,070 new cases were found through the use of PCR testing. Missouri's daily average for the testing method is 841 cases.

Antigen testing added 399 new probable cases of the virus.

The state's seven-day positivity rate fell Friday from 7.8% on Thursday to 7.7%

There were six new virus-related deaths in Missouri. There have been 11,827 coronavirus-related deaths across the state since the pandemic started.

According to the state health department, 1,231 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those patients, 218 are ventilators.

More than 2.9 million Missourians have finished the coronavirus vaccination process. That's 48.6% of Missouri's population.

The state health department reports more than 175,300 people have received a third dose of the vaccine against COVID-19.