THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports two more coronavirus deaths; 50 new coronavirus cases

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reports two new coronavirus-related deaths; that makes 162 deaths since the pandemic began. The first individual was in the 80+ age group and died Sept. 27.  The second individual was in the 60-64 age group and died Oct. 3.

The county reported 50 new COVID-19 cases from Tuesday.

There are currently 362 active cases in the county, an increase of 28 from Wednesday. The county now has a reported total number of 24,854 COVID-19 cases.

The county reported 24,330 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 20 from Wednesday.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 2.7% comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 7.1% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is green with 51 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 17 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 11 are in intensive care and six are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 101,400 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 91,777 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 56.2%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 59%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 50.9% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 52.9% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 56% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 49.8%. Callaway County is third with 45.3%.

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

The district reported a 25.5 14-day rate per 10,000 for Wednesday.

CPS reports five district facilities (four elementary schools and one high school) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There are four staff at elementary and two staff at the high school level that has tested positive for the coronavirus. The district has one elementary staff member currently quarantined because of COVID on Wednesday.

The district reports 30 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 17 out of 21 elementary, all the middle and high schools and two districtwide facilities affected.

There are 33 students that have tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of two cases from Wednesday. The district is reporting 18 students in elementary, four students in middle school and 11 students in high school have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 237 students, which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus, an increase of 19 students from Wednesday. The district reports 166 elementary students are currently quarantining, 36 students in middle school, 33 students in high school and three at other district facilities.

Cole County reports 11 new coronavirus cases

The Cole County Health Department reported 11 new coronavirus cases from Tuesday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 11,002 residential cases and 285 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,287 total cases in the county.

Cole County has reported 161 coronavirus deaths.

Cole County ranks 65th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are down 38.2% comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 7.8% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 49.8% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 45.6% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported two new coronavirus cases in students.

The district is reporting eight active cases in students and one active case in a staff member.

The district is reporting 16 close contacts for students and one close contact for staff.

More than 1,500 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Missouri

Missouri added more than 1,500 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, 1,123 people tested positive for the virus through the use of PCR testing. That's above the state's daily average of 990 cases for the testing method.

Antigen testing revealed another 435 new probable cases.

The state's seven-day positivity rate fell Thursday from 8.5% on Wednesday to 8.4%.

The state health department reported nine new coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday. That increased Missouri's total to 11,685 virus-related deaths since the pandemic started.

According to the state health department, 1,411 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Hospitals reported 244 of those patients are on ventilators.

More than 2.9 million people in Missouri have started the vaccination process against COVID-19.

That's 48.1% of the state's population.