FRIDAY UPDATES: 97 COVID patients reported in Boone County hospitals
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 49 new COVID-19 cases Friday.
There are currently 592 active cases in the county and 27,309 cases since the pandemic began. The county reported 26,535 cases removed from isolation.
Boone County ranks 12th in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 36.5% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 9.6% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).
The health department's hospital status is yellow with 97 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 20 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 97 patients, 31 are in intensive care and 16 are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 111,811 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 98,386 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 62%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 65.5%.
Boone County is third in the state with a reported 54.5% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 57.6% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 59.5% of the population fully vaccinated.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 52.9%. Callaway County is third with 48.9%.
The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.
The district reported a 50 14-day rate per 10,000 for Friday.
CPS reports 14 district facilities (eight elementary schools, one middle school, two high schools and three other district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. Eight staff members at an elementary school, one staff member at a high school and two staff members at district-wide facilities have tested positive for COVID-19. Three staff members at elementary schools, one at a middle school and one at a high school have to quarantine due to being a close contact.
The district reports 33 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 two district-wide facilities are affected.
There are 61 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 25 students in elementary, 14 students in middle school, 20 students in high school and two students at a district-wide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus.
There are 433 students who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 247 elementary students are currently quarantining, 132 students in middle school, 37 students in high school and 18 students at district-wide facilities.
Cole County reports 14 new coronavirus cases
The Cole County Health Department reported 14 new coronavirus cases Friday.
According to the dashboard update, there are 12,077 residential cases and 292 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 12,369 total cases in the county.
Cole County reports there are 169 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.
Cole County ranks 31st in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 18.9% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 12.4% positivity test rate, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 52.9% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 48.6% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
The Jefferson City School District reported two new coronavirus cases in students and no new cases in staff members from Thursday.
The district is reporting 10 active cases in students and four active cases in staff.
The district is reporting 137 close contacts for students and 15 close contacts for staff.
Missouri's daily average of coronavirus cases drop for first time in a week
The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has dropped slightly for the first time in a week to 1,974 seven-day average (13,819 confirmed cases from the past week of reporting) as the state reports new coronavirus cases across the state, according to state health department reporting. The daily average looks at the last seven days and doesn't account for the past three days, which will push that number even higher.
The state reported 2,592 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 785 probable cases identified in antigen testing from Wednesday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 762,627 confirmed cases for the entire pandemic and more than 174,467 probable cases.
The state recorded 13 more confirmed deaths for a total of 12,721 and two new probable deaths for a total of 2,856.
Missouri's new cases are up over 28% over the past week, the state reports, as new cases surge nationwide.
The rate of positive tests was at 12.6% for the last week, a slight increase from last week.
Cole, Pettis, Callaway, Osage, Moniteau, Miller, Saline and Boone counties are all in the upper third of counties in new cases per capita over the last week, according to state statistics.
Over 2.09% (up .02% from Thursday) 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 Thursday that 52.3% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 25% of total hospital capacity and 16% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 40% and 34% in Central Missouri, respectively.
