WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports 200 new coronavirus cases; over 500 new cases since Monday
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported two new coronavirus-related deaths. This is the 188 and 189 coronavirus-related death in Boone County since the pandemic began in March 2020. The first individual was in the 65-69 age group and died Dec. 26. The second individual was in the 80+ age group and died Dec. 27.
The county also reported 200 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. The county has reported 536 new coronavirus cases since Monday.
There are currently 782 active cases in the county and 28,697 cases since the pandemic began. The county reported 27,726 cases removed from isolation. Over 83% of active cases are in the 65201, 65202 and 65203 zip codes.
Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 33.7% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has an 11.4% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).
The health department's hospital status is yellow with 94 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals (a decrease of five from Tuesday) and 13 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 99 patients, 26 are in intensive care and nine are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 114,247 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 100,667 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 63.3%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 67.5%.
Boone County is third in the state with a reported 55.8% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 59.5% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 60.6% of the population fully vaccinated.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 53.8%. Callaway County is third with 49.8%.
Cole County reports over 100 new coronavirus cases over past two days
The Cole County Health Department reported 62 new coronavirus cases Wednesday. On Tuesday, the department reported 46 new cases.
According to the dashboard update, there are 12,501 residential cases and 292 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 12,855 total cases in the county.
Cole County has reported 170 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.
Cole County ranks 36th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are down 1.1% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 13.1% positivity test rate, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 53.8% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 49.6% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
State of Missouri reports over 7,100 new and probable coronavirus cases
The state of Missouri reported 7,109 new and probable coronavirus Wednesday.
The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has gone back up to a 2,695 seven-day average (18,867 confirmed cases from the previous 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 5,383 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 1,726 probable cases identified in antigen testing from over the weekend, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 809,787 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 188,983 probable cases.
The state recorded 11 more confirmed deaths for 13,108 and three new probable death for 2,962 total.
Missouri's new cases are up 22.6% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases surge nationwide.
The rate of positive tests was at 17% for the last week.
Cole, Pettis, Callaway, Osage, Moniteau, Miller, Saline and Boone counties are all in the top 40 Missouri counties in new cases per capita over the last week, according to state statistics.
The state reports that over 2.6% (a .05 increase from Tuesday) of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections.
Experts continue to tout vaccination as the best tool to fight the wave of new cases. Still, new vaccinations have effectively stalled in Missouri, with more boosters being given daily than first or second shots. The state reported Thursday that 53.6% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 34% of total hospital capacity and 26% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 43% and 39% in Central Missouri, respectively.
