WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Boone County reports third day in a row of over 400 new coronavirus cases
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 418 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. The dashboard reports that 41 of the new cases were between the ages of 18 and 22 on Tuesday.
There are currently 2,776 active cases in the county and 32,492 cases since the pandemic began.
The county reported 29,524 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 90.9% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 30.9% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).
The health department's hospital status is yellow with 144 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 10 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 144 patients, 29 are in intensive care and 23 are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 116,02 8 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 102,245 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 64.3%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 68.6%.
Boone County is third in the state with a reported 56.7% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 60.4% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 61.3% of the population fully vaccinated.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 54.5%. Callaway County is third with 50.5%.
The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.
The district reported a 200.3 14-day rate per 10,000 for Wednesday. The highest the rate has been.
CPS reports 26 district facilities (15 elementary schools, three middle schools, all four high schools and four other district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. The district is reporting 35 staff members at an elementary school, six staff members at middle schools, 16 staff members at high schools and six staff members at district-wide facilities who have tested positive for COVID-19. One staff member at elementary schools, three staff members at high schools and one staff member at a district-wide facility have to quarantine due to being a 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 middle schools and high schools and three district-wide facilities are affected.
There are 328 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 176 students in elementary, 67 students in middle school, 79 students in high school and seven students in a district-wide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus.
There are 82 students who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 29 elementary students are currently quarantining, 11 students in middle school, four students in high school and 38 students at district-wide facilities.
Helias Catholic High School to require masks again beginning Thursday
Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City said it will once again require masks starting Thursday.
The school says mask-wearing will be enforced in common areas and where ever social distancing is not possible.
In addition, the school says it's following CDC guidelines and asks anyone in close contact or testing positive for COVID to stay home for at least 5 days.
The district will also have next Tuesday off, following Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday to hopefully allow students and staff the chance to minimize potential exposure to others.
Cole County reports 196 new coronavirus cases
The Cole County Health Department reported 196 new coronavirus cases Tuesday.
According to the dashboard update, there are 13,597 residential cases and 302 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 13,899 total cases in the county.
Cole County has reported 174 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.
Cole County ranks 17st in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 101.8% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 30.5% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 54.5% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 50.2% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
The Jefferson City School District reported 13 new coronavirus cases in students and 10 new cases in staff members Tuesday.
The district is reporting 70 active cases in students and 36 active cases in staff.
The district is reporting 164 close contacts for students and 24 close contacts for staff.
Lake Regional changing visitor and mask policy due to rising COVID positivity rate
Lake Regional Health System is reporting that due to COVID positivity rates increasing locally and statewide they are changing its visitor policy in response to current conditions.
“Throughout the pandemic, Lake Regional has made adjustments to the policy based on conditions in our community,” said Kevin McRoberts, FACHE, interim CEO at Lake Regional Health System, in a release. “As the positivity rates climb, so do the number of people seeking care in our facilities. We are taking this step to better protect our patients and employees from exposure to this highly contagious variant.”
One Visitor for Most Patients
Beginning Thursday, patients hospitalized at Lake Regional Health System, as well as those receiving care in the Emergency Department, Outpatient Services and all clinics, may have one support person per day.
Exceptions will be made for pediatric patients, who may have two parents and end-of-life situations. Lake Regional Family Birth Center and Lake Regional Skilled Nursing Facility also have separate visitor policies. See lakeregional.com/visitors for details.
Visitors should remain in the patient’s room throughout the visit and limit their re-entries each day.
New Mask Requirement
All visitors and staff at all Lake Regional facilities must wear a medical mask for better protection against the Omicron variant. Anyone wearing a cloth mask, gaiter or face shield will be supplied a medical mask. Masks should cover the nose, mouth and chin at all times.
State of Missouri reports over 9,600 new coronavirus cases
The state of Missouri reported 13,135 new and probable coronavirus cases Wednesday.
The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has gone back up to an 8,440 seven-day average (59,083 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 9,687 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 3,448 probable cases identified in antigen testing from Wednesday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 918,312 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 217,550 probable cases.
The state recorded 13 new deaths for 13,501 total and one probable death was removed from the dashboard for a total of 3,075.
Missouri's new cases are up 38.5% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases surge nationwide.
The rate of positive tests is 33.2% for the last week. A higher positivity suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who haven’t been tested yet.
Cole, Pettis, Callaway, Osage, Miller, Moniteau, Boone and Saline 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 4.43% (a .19% increase from last reported on Monday) of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections. The state is reporting 6,590 new breakthrough cases for a total of 147,876 breakthrough cases out of 3,338,813 fully vaccinated people. 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 Tuesday that 54.4% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 16% of total hospital capacity and 22% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 36% and 29% in Central Missouri, respectively.
