FRIDAY UPDATES: State gets shipments of drug used to treat COVID-19 patients
COVID-19 case numbers might differ among state and local health authorities because of issues with reporting and address verification.
UPDATE 9:35 P.M.: The state received its first shipments of an experimental drug being used to treat COVID-19 patients this week.
The Department of Health and Senior Services got 1,276 vials of remdesivir Friday. It sent those vials to 33 hospitals across the state. On Tuesday, the state got 385 vials and distributed them to 18 hospitals.
The state has been working with the Missouri Hospital Association to figure out which hospitals to send the vials to.
The health department also worked with the state’s MO DMAT-1, Missouri National Guard, State Emergency Management Agency and Missouri State Highway Patrol to get remdesivir to the hospitals.
“As a clinician who has been on the other side working directly with a patient in need, I am so thankful for both our federal partners for their cooperation and our local partners for their quick actions this week that is literally saving lives,” said Dr. Randall Williams, Director of DHSS. “We’re so fortunate that this multi-agency collaboration is allowing treatment to quickly get to those who need it most.”
UPDATE 5:45 P.M.: Moniteau County has reported its first COVID-19 death.
The patient was a person in his or her 90s who tested positive for the novel coronavirus on April 21, the Moniteau County Public Health Center said in a news release Friday.
Older adults are more at risk from the worst complications of COVID-19. Of the 576 deaths reported statewide as of Friday, only 16 were in people younger than 50.
Moniteau County had become a Mid-Missouri COVID-19 hot spot in recent weeks, including several cases identified at the Burgers' Smokehouse meat processing facility. However the county's active number of cases has declined in recent days, and the health department reported only seven active cases Friday afternoon.
The county has tallied 53 total cases.
Another area county, Saline, reported its own COVID-19 death Friday. The death of the 47-year-old woman was the second recorded in Saline County this week.
UPDATE 5:20 P.M.: The Columbia city government will reopen part of City Hall on Monday.
The first floor of City Hall will be open to the public starting Monday, the city said in a news release Friday. Plexiglass has been installed in places where the public interacts with city staff, according to the release.
People will need to enter the building through the front doors into the main lobby. Visitors will then have to check in at the front desk and get a visitor's badge, according to the release.
Visitors with appointments will also need to check in at the front desk and the city employee they're meeting with will come to the lobby, the city said.
The Columbia Municipal Court will resume operations Monday and will be open each day from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Parks and Recreation offices in the Gentry Building will also be open to the public.
No new cases in Boone, Callaway, Cole counties
Health authorities in Boone, Callaway and Cole counties reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
Boone County remained at 100 cases, with five of them active, representing no change from Thursday. Cole County remained at 54 cases with only one active. Callaway County again reported 22 total cases with only one active.
The three counties have each seen a dramatic slowing in new COVID-19 cases over the past several week.
Second death reported in Saline County
One of Mid-Missouri's COVID-19 hot spots reported its second death Friday.
The Saline County Health Department said a 47-year-old woman had died. It was the county's second death -- both of them reported this week.
The county with a population of about 23,000 people reported 247 COVID-19 cases Friday with 54 of them active.
UPDATES 3:15 P.M.: The Columbia/Boone County health department urged residents to be patient Friday, saying it expects to update the public on its COVID-19 order the week of May 25.
The department also previewed some of the items that will likely be in the next order.
"While our community should be encouraged by this news, we do need to allow a few more days to fully gather and evaluate the data to ensure community transmission and new cases are remaining stable," the department said in a news release. "In the coming week, the director of Public Health and Human Services will be evaluating the data and the communities’ ability to move further into the recovery plan with an announcement likely the week of May 25 to allow the community time to implement any changes."
Department director Stephanie Browning announced a COVID-19 reopening order on April 30 to go into effect May 4. The order was more strict than a statewide reopening order taking effect the same day, including a prohibition on the operation of movie theaters and other large venues.
The news release said the changes to the reopening order will likely go into effect the same time the state's initial reopening order is set to expire, May 31.
The new county order will include increased capacity levels for businesses, churches and other organizations; the reopening of large venues, pools and playgrounds with occupancy limits; and the resumption of mass gatherings.
The current order bars gatherings of more than 10 people.
City and county lawyers representing Browning held a court hearing via online video conference Friday morning, defending her reopening order against a legal challenge brought by local businessman Paul Prevo.
Judge Brouck Jacobs declined to put a temporary hold on the regulations and no date has been set for a future hearing.
UPDATE 2:48 P.M.: The University of Missouri announced hundreds of additional furloughs and salary reductions on Friday.
University of Missouri Health Care and MU School of Medicine also announced more than two dozen new layoffs.
According to data from MU Human Resource Services, total furloughs were listed at 899 and total salary reductions were at 995. University furloughs were up by at least 320 and total salary reductions increased by 209 over the past week.
MU also said 33 workers' contracts were not renewed.
A release from MU Health said 29 positions were eliminated across the university's hospitals and clinics. The release said employees affected by the layoff could receive transition assistance payment.
MU Health also layed off 49 employees last week.
The university said the cost-saving measures saved about $8.11 million. MU has said it's facing a $17 million budget deficit brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
ORIGINAL: The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported fewer than 140 new cases of COVID-19 Friday.
The department reported 10,456 cases Friday, an increase of 139 from Thursday. The state recorded 14 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the statewide total to 576.
The total case increase was lower than Thursday's 175-case increase. Daily increases have varied widely this week between 74 on Monday and the 175 new cases reported Thursday.
However, case growth has largely slowed over the past week.
St. Louis County continues to lead the state with more than 4,000 of the cases reported statewide. St. Louis County has also reported 318 deaths.
The Missouri Hospital Association in its daily report posted Thursday said 796 people in Missouri were hospitalized with COVID-19 and 115 of them were on ventilators.
State health director Dr. Randall Williams said Thursday that about 1,800 vials of remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has shown promise as a COVID-19 treatment, were set to be delivered to Missouri on Friday or Saturday. The vials are enough to treat all patients on ventilators, he said.
