TUESDAY UPDATES: New Southern Boone COVID-19 rubric goes into effect

The Southern Boone School District's COVID-19 rubric went into effect on Tuesday. The new rubric was approved back in November.

COVID-19 Rubric Important Notes:

• Based on the district’s COVID-19 dashboard, It is anticipated that all school buildings will begin in the green status level on the rubric.
• Each building’s color status level will be posted and updated on the school’s website.
• Building administrators and school nurses will continue to contact trace and notify parents if their students have been identified as a close contact.
• In the green status level on the rubric, quarantining close contacts with no symptoms will not be required. Parents will have the opportunity to keep students at home to monitor for symptoms if they choose. Students and staff who test positive for COVID-19 or are showing symptoms, will be required to quarantine.
• In the yellow status level, quarantine of non-vaccinated close contacts with no symptoms is required. Vaccinated close contacts will not be required to quarantine if they remain symptom free.
• In the red status level, masks will be required indoors, and quarantine of non-vaccinated close contacts with no symptoms is required. Vaccinated close contacts will not be required to quarantine if they remain symptom free.
• Communication will be sent to parents if/when a school building’s status level changes.

Per federal order, masks will continue to be required on school buses. Masks are encouraged in all other parts of the district.

Boone County reports its largest number of active and new coronavirus cases

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported two new coronavirus-related deaths Tuesday as active cases climbed to nearly 1,300 in the county.

The deaths brought the total to 192 since the first death was reported in March 2020. The first individual was in the 70-74 age group and died Dec. 27. The second individual was in the 70-74 age group and died Dec. 29. 

The county reported 329 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday.

There are currently 1,273 active cases in the county and 29,704 cases since the pandemic began. Active cases have hit their highest number of since the pandemic began.  

The county reported 28,239 cases removed from isolation. Over 87% of active cases are in the 65201, 65202 and 65203 zip codes.

Boone County ranks 15th in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 149.1% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 21.7% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 131 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 12 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 131 patients, 38 are in intensive care and 25 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 115,046 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 101,257 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 63.8%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 68%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 56.1% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 59.9% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 60.9% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 54.1%. Callaway County is third with 50%.

Cole County reports four new coronavirus-related deaths; 57 new cases

The Cole County Health Department reported 57 new coronavirus cases Tuesday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 12,785 residential cases and 294 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 13,079 total cases in the county.

Cole County reported four new deaths, two in the general population and two from long-term care facilities. The county has reported 174 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began. All 4 deaths occurred in the month of December and all were over the age of 65, according to the Cole County Health Department.

Cole County ranks 31st in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 93.9% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 20.9% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 54.1% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 49.9% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

State of Missouri reports over 5,500 new coronavirus cases; new cases doubled compared to last week

The state of Missouri reported 7,616 new and probable coronavirus Tuesday.

The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has gone back up to a 5,526 seven-day average (38,685 confirmed cases from the previous week of reporting) as the state reports new coronavirus cases across the state according to state health department reporting. The daily average looks at the last seven days and doesn't account for the past three days, which will push that number even higher.

The state reported 5,520 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 2,096 probable cases identified in antigen testing from over the weekend, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 844,728 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 195,397 probable cases.

The state recorded 143 more confirmed deaths for 13,268 and 50 new probable deaths for a total of 3,011.

Missouri's new cases are up 114.7% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases surge nationwide.

The rate of positive tests is 28% for the last week.

Cole, Pettis, Callaway, Osage, Moniteau, Miller, Saline and Boone counties are all in the top 40 Missouri counties in new cases per capita over the last week, according to state statistics.

The state reports that over 3.19% (a .5 increase from last reported on Monday) of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections.

Experts continue to tout vaccination as the best tool to fight the wave of new cases.

Still, new vaccinations have effectively stalled in Missouri, with more boosters being given daily than first or second shots. The state reported Tuesday that 53.9% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 29% of total hospital capacity and 21% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 39% and 34% in Central Missouri, respectively.