Columbia, Boone County leaders meet for COVID-19 update

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Leaders met Monday morning to discuss the record-setting COVID-19 numbers in Boone County during a conference call hosted by the Boone County Commission.

The conference call took place at 8:30 this morning and lasted about 25 minutes.

This comes as Boone County set a record with its highest positivity rate since the beginning of the pandemic, at 37.3 percent.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that any positivity rate above 10 percent is cause for concern. Boone County has now entered its fifth straight week with a positivity rate above 25 percent.

The county only saw one other such week, coming the last week of August.

Hospitals in the county have also seen surges. Boone County's COVID-19 dashboard currently has the healthcare system capacity level at yellow.

There are 149 patients hospitalized with the virus in Boone, according to the latest update made on Friday.

Hospitals are reporting 44 patients in ICU's and 16 who are on ventilators.

Columbia city leaders will also meet Monday night. The Columbia City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the agenda includes a COVID-19 update.