WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Boone County active coronavirus cases continues to rise; Cole County reports 9 breakthrough cases

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 56 new COVID-19 cases.

There are currently 333 active cases in the county.

The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 19,283.

The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 18,832.

The health department's hospital status remains in yellow.

The health department is reporting eleven Boone County residents are in the hospital due to the coronavirus.

There are a total of 70 people hospitalized at a Boone County hospital due to the coronavirus.

The dashboard is showing 24 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and nine patients on a ventilator.

The State of Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 91,697 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 81,945 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses.

Boone County has the largest percentage of people in Mid-Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 50.8%. The second closest in the state is St. Louis County with 49.4%.

Boone County is first in the state with a reported 45.5% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is second in the state with 43.7% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 41.2%. Montgomery County is third with 37.2%.

Cole County Health Department is reporting nine breakthrough infections.

Officials say there have been a total of 65 breakthrough infections to date. These breakthrough infections are occurring with Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J vaccines.

Most of the cases have been 20-50 years old; however, positive cases are reported in all age groups.

The vaccines were approved with the purpose of decreasing severity of COVID-19 symptoms and decreasing the rate of hospitalization.

Cole County reports 40 new coronavirus cases

The Cole County Health Department is reporting 40 new coronavirus cases Wednesday.

According to the dashboard update, there have been 8,180 resident cases and 270 long-term care facility resident cases.

The county has reported 124 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic started.

Missouri DHSS issues COVID-19 hotspot advisory for Camden, Miller and Morgan Counties

With southwest Missouri counties seeing a surge in coronavirus cases due to the Delta variant, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is issuing an advisory for Camden, Miller and Morgan County.

Officials report the disease spread from Southwestern Missouri to the Lake of the Ozarks region is expected.

Coronavirus cases in Miller, Morgan, and Camden counties are also rising with 38, 41, and 81 respectively in the past week with forecasted rates in these counties could be more than 3 times higher in the coming weeks.

Vaccination rates in Miller (21.1%), Morgan (26.5%), and Camden (32.3%) counties are below the state rate of 39.0%.

Experts say at least 70% of people need immunity to minimize spread within a community.

Vaccinated or not, Boone County health officials encourage masks indoors

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services issued a Public Health Advisory Wednesday morning, as cases of COVID-19 are increasing in the area.

According to the advisory from PHHS, the majority of new cases in Boone County are among people who are not fully vaccinated against the virus.

However, health officials said even those who are vaccinated should take precautions to protect those who are unvaccinated, specifically children under the age of 12.

Though the advisory does not order any health measures to control the spread of the virus, it does encourage community members to take the following steps to prevent transmission:

• Wear a mask indoors (whether or not you are vaccinated against COVID-19)
• Get a coronavirus vaccination
• Stay home if sick
• Get tested for COVID-19 if you have symptoms
• Maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet when around people who may not be fully vaccinated
• Wash your hands often and for at least 20 seconds
• Tell friends and family about the importance of getting the vaccine

"As a reminder, no vaccine is 100% effective; however, the COVID-19 vaccines are proven to significantly reduce the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death," the advisory said.

As of Wednesday morning, the state health dashboard showed 50.8% of Boone Countians had initiated vaccination against COVID-19, still the highest rate in Missouri, and 45.4% of the population was fully vaccinated.

You can find opportunities to get a coronavirus vaccine in Boone County here.

Proportion of Delta variant more than doubles in Missouri

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the Delta variant makes up 73.3% of new COVID-19 cases in Missouri.

In the updated CDC table below, the Delta variant is the fourth column titled "B.1.617.2" and is ranked by states with the largest proportion of that variant.

The proportions are updated every two weeks and show the proportion of variants over four weeks. In the last update on June 22, the CDC recorded the Delta variant made up 29.1% of new cases. On June 8, that proportion was 6.8%.

On Wednesday the state reported 1,180 new COVID-19 cases bringing the total to 529,982. The state also added 483 new probable antigen cases to the dashboard, putting the total at 96,144.

In an overnight update the state linked 29 more deaths to the COVID-19 pandemic. In total 35 deaths were added to the state's dashboard on Wednesday.

Missouri's positivity rate also increased, now sitting at 11%.