MONDAY UPDATES: Missouri DHSS adds 111 coronavirus related deaths after analyzing death certificates

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has added 111 COVID-19 related deaths after the state’s disease surveillance system analyzed death certificates.

Officials say the deaths will be captured and reported publicly through the dashboard Tuesday morning.

Of the 111 deaths:

• Two in January 2021
• One in May 2021
• One in August 2021
• One in September 2021
• One in October 2021
• Three in November 2021
• Three in December 2021
• 10 in January
• 45 in February
• 44 in March

Officials at DHSS report the weekly activity typically causes a sharp increase in the deaths added to Missouri’s total the following day. DHSS is now regularly analyzing death certificates on Mondays.

Boone County reports COVID cases down 13.6% compared to last week

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 10 new coronavirus cases were added to the information hub on Monday. The county delays reporting cases by two days.

The dashboard is showing 20 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals. Of the 20 patients, one is in intensive care and one on a ventilator.

The county has reported 42,778 since the pandemic began. The county has reported 13,899 cases since 2022 started.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week and is 33rd when sorted by cases per 100,000. Cases are down 13.6% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 3.2% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 118,721 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 106,228 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 65.8%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 70.8%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 58.9% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 62.9% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 63.4% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 55.5%. Callaway County is third with 51.8%.

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

The district reported a 5.6 14-day rate for last Saturday.

CPS reports 16 district facilities (seven elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools and three other district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19.

The district is reporting 14 coronavirus cases in staff across the district. The breakdown in staff shows six staff members at an elementary school, four staff members at middle schools, two staff members at the high schools and two staff members at district-wide facilities who have tested positive for COVID-19. Three staff members at elementary school have to quarantine due to being in close contact.

The district reports there are no coronavirus cases in students.

Cole County reports four new coronavirus cases from over the weekend

The Cole County Health Department reported four new coronavirus cases on Monday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 17,007 residential cases and 330 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 17,337 total cases in the county since March 2020.

The county has reported 199 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Cole County ranks 41st in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are down 26.3% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 4% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 55.5% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 51.7% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported on no new coronavirus case in a student or staff member on Sunday.

The district is reporting three active cases in a student.

State of Missouri COVID hospitalizations drop by 48%

The state of Missouri reported 653 new and probable coronavirus cases from Monday.

The state health department is reporting a 186 seven-day coronavirus case average (1,301 confirmed cases from the previous week of reporting). The daily average looks at the last seven days and doesn't account for the past three days.

The dashboard reported 497 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 156 probable cases identified in antigen testing from Thursday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 1,129,946 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 277,267 probable cases.

The state added five deaths for 15,952 total and no new probable deaths were removed for 3,789.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending down, with the state reporting 19% of total inpatient capacity and 23% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 18% and 31% in Central Missouri, respectively. The state is reporting 365 patient hospitalizations, a drop of 48% from Friday when 752 hospitalizations were reported. There are currently 81 patients in Missouri ICUs. The hospital status for all of Missouri is on a three-day delay, the latest information is from Friday.

Missouri's new cases are down 12.7% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases go down nationwide.

The rate of positive tests is 3% for the last week. A higher positivity rate suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who haven’t been tested yet.

Montgomery (1), Howard (4), Audrain (9), Maries (27), Osage (31), Boone (33), Callaway (36) and Pettis (39) counties are all in the top 40 Missouri counties in cases per capita over the last week, according to state statistics.

The state reports that 8.08% (.01 change for Monday) of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections. The state is reporting 279,988 breakthrough cases out of 3,465,579 fully vaccinated people. The state has reported 1,823 breakthrough deaths.

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

The state reported Monday that 56.5% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.