THURSDAY UPDATE: Active coronavirus cases jump in Boone County; Parson ends state of emergency

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 183 new COVID-19 cases Thursday. The county has reported 719 new coronavirus cases since Monday.

There are currently 891 active cases in the county and 28,880 cases since the pandemic began. The last time active cases were this high was on Jan. 11 when 922 cases were reported.

The county reported 27,800 cases removed from isolation. Over 85% 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 49% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 13.1% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 100 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals (an increase of six from Tuesday) and 12 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 100 patients, 24 are in intensive care and 10 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 114,359 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 100,762 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 63.4%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 67.6%.

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 59.6% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 60.7% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 53.9%. Callaway County is third with 49.8%.

Gov. Mike Parson sent out a release that Missouri's COVID-19 related State of Emergency will expire Friday. Governor Parson first issued an Executive Order (EO) declaring a State of Emergency existed due to COVID-19 on March 13, 2020. 

"Thanks to the effectiveness of the vaccine, widespread efforts to mitigate the virus, and our committed health care professionals, past needs to continue the state of emergency are no longer present," Gov. Parson said in a release.

At one time, nearly 600 statutory and regulatory waivers were approved across the Missouri state government. Since that peak, waivers were reduced by nearly 80 percent. All remaining COVID-19 related waivers authorized under EO 21-09 will terminate on December 31, 2021. 

With the expiration of EO 21-09, the Missouri National Guard will no longer be activated for COVID-19 related missions. 

Cole County reports 59 new cases; positivity rate 14.8%

The Cole County Health Department reported 59 new coronavirus cases Thursday and 167 total since Tuesday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 12,622 residential cases and 292 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 12,914 total cases in the county.

Cole County has reported 170 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Cole County ranks 34th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 24.4% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 14.8% positivity test rate, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 53.9% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 49.7% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

State of Missouri reports over 6,000 new coronavirus cases; positivity rate jumps to 19.5%

The state of Missouri reported 8,143 new and probable coronavirus Wednesday.

The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has gone back up to a 3,127 seven-day average (21,889 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 6,047 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 2,096 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 815,834 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 191,079 probable cases.

The state recorded five more confirmed deaths for 13,113 and removed one probable death for 2,961 total.

Missouri's new cases are up 39.4% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases surge nationwide.

The rate of positive tests is 19.5% for the last week.

Cole, Pettis, Callaway, Osage, Moniteau, Miller 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 2.6% (a .09 increase from Wednesday) 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 53.7% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 32% of total hospital capacity and 23% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 43% and 39% in Central Missouri, respectively.

MU Health Care to limit COVID-19 testing to those with symptoms

MU Health Care is limiting outpatient testing to only people who are experiencing symptoms due to high demand.

MU Health Care's testing site is averaging more than 300 people per day seeking testing, compared to 100 a day just three weeks ago.

According to officials, 60% of visitors are not experiencing symptoms and are seeking a test result for travel or similar purposes. The change in testing criteria will be in place until further notice.

For people who are not experiencing symptoms but need a test for travel or other purposes, they can find testing options on the state’s webpage.

MU Health Care’s primary test collection site at 2003 W. Broadway, Suite 100, in Columbia, is available as a walk-in option for people who are experiencing symptoms suspected to be from COVID-19 infection. The site is open 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. seven days a week. It will be closed Friday, Dec. 31, and Saturday, Jan. 1, for the New Year’s holiday and will reopen at 8 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 2.