MONDAY UPDATES: Boone County health officials detail nature of new cases
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
UPDATE 5:50 P.M.: Of the 40 new COVID-19 cases reported by Boone County health officials between June 1 and June 7, 30 of them were from contact with a known case.
The Columbia/Boone County health department provided more details about the recent surge in cases in a news release Monday afternoon. Those 30 cases contracted from known previous cases include people who live in the same house as someone else with COVID-19, according to the release.
"This data may suggest that residents are feeling more comfortable gathering with family and friends without using proper social distancing and other risk mitigation efforts," the health department said in the release. "We urge everyone to continue to stay at least 6 feet away from others outside of their household, wash hands regularly and disinfect shared surfaces often."
The department says eight of the 40 cases were picked up locally from an unknown source -- what health officials call community transmission. Two others are under investigation.
The department reports 60 people in quarantine countywide because they've had contact with a COVID-19 patient.Â
UPDATE 4:50 P.M.: A third person has died of COVID-19 in Saline County.
The county health department reported the death on its Facebook page Monday.
Saline has been one of the hardest-hit counties in Mid-Missouri during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday the county reported 283 cases with 35 active. Four of the patients are hospitalized, the county reported.
The county has the highest number of deaths of any county in Mid-Missouri.
UPDATE 4:10 P.M.: Boone County continued a 12-day streak of reporting new COVID-19 cases on Monday.
The county added three new cases on Monday, bringing its total since the pandemic began to 192. The county reported two fewer active cases with 40 total.
During the 12-day streak the county has added 66 new cases of COVID-19, dating back to May 26. The numbers contrast with early May and late April, when the county reported slow growth in new daily cases.
Health officials have said increases are likely as testing continues to increase.
County officials report no Boone County residents are currently hospitalized. However, 14 COVID-19 patients are in Boone County's hospitals, with 11 of them in intensive care and six on ventilators.
Audrain County, which has also seen accelerated growth in cases, reported two new cases on Monday to bring its total to 117. The county was at just two cases on May 17.
The county, with a population of about 25,000, had 38 active cases as of Monday.
Meanwhile, other Mid-Missouri counties have seen their numbers grow slowly. Cole County last reported a new case on May 24 and has one one case active.
UPDATE 2:20 P.M.: The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Missouri on Monday shot beyond 180 for the seventh time in the last eight days.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on Monday reported 181 new cases, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 14,734. New cases dipped to 111 on Sunday but have remained at 180 or more seven of the last eight days, with a high of 290 on Thursday.
The Thursday number was the largest reported since May 4.
The increase in new cases over the past couple of weeks is mirrored in Boone County, where cases have increased by 40 over the last seven days.
Meanwhile, some smaller Mid-Missouri counties have some of the highest cases per 100,000 population in the state. Saline County leads the state with about 1,175 cases per 100,000.
Testing has increased on the state and local levels and health officials have warned of the likelihood of increases in new cases as the number of tests goes up. The state reported about 241,000 tests administered as of Monday.
Cases have increased 6.2 percent statewide over the last seven days.
The state reported 819 deaths on Monday, up 10 from Sunday.
More than 5,000 of the state's COVID-19 cases have been reported in St. Louis County, along with 464 deaths.
Officials have repeatedly said the number of new COVID-19 cases being reported is less important than the number of hospitalized patients and whether hospital resources are being stretched thin.
The Missouri Hospital Association's most recent report on hospitalized COVID-19 patients, issued Sunday, said 623 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, a decrease of 34 from the day before. More than 2,200 ventilators were available.
ORIGINAL: The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health will hold a mobile testing event Monday morning.
Anyone with symptoms of an acute respiratory illness can get tested between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Derby Ridge Elementary School.
The latest mobile testing site comes as Boone County case numbers increased over the first week of June. Since June 1, the county has seen nearly 40 new cases bringing the total to 189 cases since the pandemic started.
A doctor's note is not required at the event, but health officials ask anyone who wants to get tested to bring identification and insurance information if available.
