TUESDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports two new coronavirus-related deaths, active cases remain above 500

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported two new coronavirus-related deaths. That brings the total to 182 since March 2020. The first individual was in the 40-44 age group and died on Nov. 9. The second individual was in the 65-69 age group and died on Nov. 30.

The county reports 45 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday.

There are currently 514 active cases in the county and 27,070 cases since the pandemic began. The county reported 26,374 cases removed from isolation.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 61.2% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 9.8% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 96 COVID-19 patients (a drop of 14 from Monday) in Boone County hospitals and 18 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 96 patients, 31 are in intensive care and 15 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 111,165 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 97,823 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 61.6%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 65.1%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 54.2% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 57.1% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 59.2% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 52.7%. Callaway County is third with 48.6%.

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

The district reported a 39.1 14-day rate per 10,000 for Tuesday.

CPS reports seven district facilities (five elementary schools, one high school and one other district-wide facility) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. Six staff members at an elementary school and one staff member at a high school have tested positive for COVID-19. Two staff members at elementary schools have to quarantine due to the close contact.

The district reports 34 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. The district is reporting 20 of the elementary schools, all of the middle schools and high schools and three district-wide facilities are affected.

There are 53 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 29 students in elementary, nine students in middle school,  14 students in high school and one student at a district-wide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 390 students who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 248 elementary students are currently quarantining, 100 students in middle school, 35 students in high school and nine students at district-wide facilities.

Cole County reports COVID-19 cases are up 82% compared to last week

The Cole County Health Department reported 31 new coronavirus cases Tuesday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 12,009 residential cases and 291 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 12,300 total cases in the county.

Cole County reports there are 168 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Cole County ranks 22nd in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 82% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 13.9% positivity test rate, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 52.7% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 48.4% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported two new coronavirus cases in students and four new cases in staff members from Monday.

The district is reporting seven active cases in students and five active cases in staff.

The district is reporting 132 close contacts for students and 11 close contacts for staff.

Red Zone report shows cases nearly a quarter across Missouri; Boone County top 10 in state of new cases per capita

The newest State Profile Report shows Missouri remains at the high transmission level of COVID-19. The report shows new cases are up by 23% compared to last week with 211 cases per 100,000 people.

The report shows Missouri had 12,970 new cases of COVID-19 for the week of Dec. 3.

The report also indicates 118 residents died from the coronavirus.

All Missouri counties are considered high community transmission except Bollinger, St. Clair and Scotland Counties that are labeled as orange (substantial) transmission.

Over 71% of Missouri residents 18 years and old have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 61.9% are considered fully vaccinated.

According to the report, over 99% of coronavirus cases were identified as the delta variant.

According to the report, 29 hospitals are dealing with staffing shortages, which account for 24% of hospitals in the state. Seven hospitals are currently dealing with supply shortages or seven percent of all hospitals.

Vaccine rates are going up, 30,788 people 18 and older initiated vaccination last week which is 41.7% higher than the last report. 1,638 people 12-17 initiated vaccines last week, which is 53.8% higher than the last report.

The state is reporting the daily average of new coronavirus cases in Missouri continues to go up as it nears an average of 2,000 cases, according to state health department reporting.

On Friday, the daily average increased to 1,493, then to 1,907 on Monday and now it is 1,967 Tuesday.The daily average looks at the last seven days and does not account for the past three days, which will push that number even higher.

The state logged 1,553 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 575 probable cases identified in antigen testing from Monday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 754,699 confirmed cases for the entire pandemic and more than 171,611 probable cases.

The state recorded 63 more confirmed deaths for a total of 12,682 and 10 new probable death for 2,853.

Missouri's new cases are up nearly 68% over the past week, the state reports, as new cases surge nationwide.

The rate of positive tests was at 12.8% for the last week, a slight increase from last week.

Pettis, Saline, Boone, Cole and Callaway Counties are all in the top 10 of counties in new cases per capita over the last week, according to state statistics.

Just over 2% of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections, the state reports.

Experts continue to tout vaccination as the best tool to fight the wave of new cases, but new vaccinations have effectively stalled in Missouri, with more boosters being given daily than first or second shots. The state reported Tuesday 58.9% of residents have initiated a vaccination and that 52% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 26% of total hospital capacity and 17% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 39% and 34% in Central Missouri, respectively.