FRIDAY UPDATES: Lake Regional revises visitor policy

Lake Regional Health System announced it was changing its visitor policy Friday.

According to a news release, all non-COVID patients may now have two visitors at a time. This applies to both the hospital and clinics. The health system asked that visitors limit re-entries.

Visiting hours will still be between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. All visitors, staff and patients must continue to wear masks. Visitors must be 18 years or older with exceptions for children who are with parents of pediatric patients.

Officials said that all visitors must stay in patient rooms and not be in common areas.

People who feel sick are asked to not visit patients.

Boone County reports two more coronavirus-related deaths; 21 new cases

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported two new coronavirus-related deaths. The county has reported 174 deaths since March of last year. The first individual was in the 80+ age group and died Nov. 22, 2020. The second individual was in the 45-49 age group and died Aug. 12.

The county reported 21 new COVID-19 cases from Thursday.

There are currently 254 active cases in the county and a total of 25,702 cases since the pandemic began.

The county reported 25,274 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 14.2% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 6.5% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 45 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 11 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 45 patients, 15 are in intensive care and seven are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 104,742 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 94,894 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 58%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 60.6%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 52.6% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 54.4% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 57.4% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 51.1%. Callaway County is third with 46.6%.

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

The district reported a 19.2 14-day rate per 10,000 for Thursday.

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

The district reports 26 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 16 out of 21 elementary, all of the middle schools, three high schools affected.

There are 27 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 15 students in elementary, 11 students in middle school, and one student in high school have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 158 students which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 86 elementary students are currently quarantining, 60 students in middle school, and 12 students in high school.

Cole County reports seven new coronavirus cases

The Cole County Health Department reported seven new coronavirus cases from Thursday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 11,370 residential cases and 286 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,656 total cases in the county.

Cole County reported 165 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Cole County ranks 15th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases remain the same when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported an 8.4% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 51.1% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 46.9% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported two new coronavirus cases in students and one new cases in a staff member from Thursday.

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

The district is reporting 56 close contacts for students and two close contacts for staff.

MU Health Care relaxes visitor guidelines; masks still required in all facilities

MU Health Care will continue to require masks at all facilities but will relax restrictions on hospital and clinic visitors beginning Monday.

Adult inpatients can have two designated visitors per day at University Hospital, Missouri Orthopaedic Institute, Missouri Psychiatric Center and Women’s and Children’s Hospital. No visitors will be allowed for adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 but pediatric patients diagnosed with COVID-19 can have one parent or guardian visit.   

“Contact with family and friends is an important part of the healing process,” said Kevin R. Gwin, MU Health Care chief patient experience officer in a release. “We are pleased to get closer to a more typical visitation schedule.” 

Emergency Department patients, those undergoing same-day surgery and testing, and those attending clinic visits will also be allowed two visitors under the changes that take effect Monday. 

Missouri reports more than 1,200 new cases of COVID-19

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported Friday more than 1,200 new cases of COVID-19.

Data from the state health department showed 914 patients tested positive for the virus using PCR tests. Missouri's daily average for the testing method is 692 cases.

According to DHSS, antigen testing found 298 new probable cases of the virus. That's above Missouri's daily average for the testing method.

The state's seven-day positivity rate remained unchanged from the previous day at 6.6%.

Missouri reported five new virus-related deaths. At least 12,218 patients in Missouri have died from coronavirus-related causes since the pandemic started.

According to the state health department, hospitals are treating 1,008 people for COVID-19. Of those patients, 154 are on ventilators.

More than 3 million Missourians have finished the vaccination process against COVID-19. That's 49.7% of the state's population.