MONDAY UPDATES: Court denies St. Louis County motions to dismiss mask case
A court has denied St. Louis County motion to dismiss Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt's lawsuit over the county's mask mandate.
In a release, the attorney general's office says St. Louis County filed a motion to dismiss the case, a motion to dissolve the preliminary injunction, and a motion to stay discovery, all of which were denied by the court.
“The people of St. Louis County scored another win as the Court denied the County’s motions to dismiss our case and dissolve the Preliminary Injunction, which remains in place,” said Schmitt in a release. “There is no mask mandate in St. Louis County, and I will continue to lead this important fight on behalf of the people of Missouri.”
Missouri DHSS adds 199 coronavirus related deaths after analyzing death certificates
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has added 199 COVID-19 related deaths after the state’s disease surveillance system analyzed several death certificates.
Officials say the deaths will be captured and reported publicly through the dashboard Tuesday morning.
Of the 199 deaths:
- One in June
- Three in July
- 122 in August
- 73 in September
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.
Officials say the state does not track probable or pending deaths.
Boone County reports 112 coronavirus cases; one COVID-related death
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting one new coronavirus-related death. The county has reported 152 total coronavirus-related deaths. The individual was in the 80+ age group and died Sept. 16.
The county reported 112 new COVID-19 cases.
There are currently 627 active cases in the county, 11 more than Friday. The county now has a reported total number of 24,200 COVID-19 cases.
The county reported 23,421 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 100 cases.
Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 10% on the week. The county has an 8.8% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The health department's hospital status remains green, with 96 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 27 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 23 are in intensive care and nine are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 102,585 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 92,507 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses. Boone County has the second-largest percentage of county residents in Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 56.8%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 58%.
Boone County is second in the state with a reported 51.3% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the second county in the state with 51.8% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 54.8% of the population fully vaccinated.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 49.7%. Montgomery County is third with 43.1%.
The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.
On Friday, the district reported a 45.2 14-day rate per 10,000.
CPS reports nine district facilities (four elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and three other district facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There are six staff at elementary and two staff at the high school level and one at a district facility that have tested positive for the coronavirus. The district has five staff currently quarantined because of COVID.
The district reports 28 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 15 out of 21 elementary, six middle schools and all four high schools and three districtwide facilities affected.
There are 41 students that have tested positive for COVID-19, a decrease of 23 from Friday. The district is reporting 19 students in elementary, seven students in middle school, 14 students in High School and one at a districtwide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus.
There are 285 students, which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus, a decrease of 131 students from Friday. The district reports 128 elementary students are currently quarantining, 94 students in middle school, 50 students in high school and 14 at other district facilities.
Cole County reports 36 new coronavirus cases over the weekend
The Cole County Health Department reported 36 new coronavirus cases from over the weekend.
According to the dashboard update, there are 10,777 residential cases and 284 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,061 total cases in the county.
Cole County has reported 155 coronavirus deaths.
Cole County ranks 62nd in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are down 29.6% comparing last week to the prior week. The county has an 8.7% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 49% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 44.6% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
The Jefferson City School District reported 13 active coronavirus cases in students and no active cases in staff.
The district is reporting eight close contacts for students and one close contact for staff.
Missouri adds more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19
Missouri added more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.
According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, 902 cases of the virus were discovered with the use of PCR testing.
Antigen testing revealed another 102 new patients. The number of new PCR cases reported Monday was below the state's daily average of 1,431 cases. The state health department reported a 10% drop in cases over the past week and a 49% drop in deaths.
The statewide seven-day positivity rate fell Monday from 10.2% on Sunday to 10%
Missouri added one new virus-related death. There have been at least 11,063 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic started.
According to the state health department, more than 3.2 million Missourians have started the vaccination process against COVID-19. That's 53.1% of the state's population. The rate for the country is 54.9%, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The average number of shots given daily has fallen to about 8,300 compared to about 15,000 per day in late August.
The number of patients with coronavirus in Missouri intensive care units has dropped steadily since hitting record highs last month.
