WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Callaway County gains 19 new COVID-19 cases
UPDATE 10:10 P.M.: Callaway County reported 19 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday while two colleges in the county reported new cases on their campuses.
The jump in cases brings the count’s total to 267 since the pandemic began. Active cases rose by 19 to reach 94.
The new cases were reported the same day that Westminster College in Fulton said it received notification of two more positive tests. Eight people have tested positive this semester on the Westminster campus.
One employee case is active and the work is isolating off campus, the school said. Four students have active cases and three of them are isolated on campus with the other off-campus.
Two William Woods University students living on campus – one in Allen Hall and the other in Swearingen Hall – have tested positive for COVID-19, the school reported Wednesday. Six staff have tested positive, with three of those cases active.
UPDATE 4:25 P.M.: It took less than a week for Boone County to break its daily COVID-19 case record this time.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Health and Human Services reported 87 new cases Wednesday, breaking the record of 81 set Friday. The number of active cases increased by 44 to reach 468.
The report caused a key number followed by Columbia Public Schools to jump nearly six points.
Boone County also reported its seventh COVID-19 death earlier in the day.
The number of people in quarantine in Boone County because they've been exposed to COVID-19 soared past 900, settling at 913.
The county has now added 181 COVID-19 cases since Monday.
The five-day average of new daily COVID-19 cases continued to climb Wednesday, reaching 61.4. That number has dropped as low as 17.6 this month.
The number of people with COVID-19 in Boone County's hospitals was already at a high for the pandemic. The number rose another four cases to 43, according to the department's online COVID-19 dashboard. However, the county's hospitals reported no shortages Wednesday.
The record came on the same day the University of Missouri reported 228 active cases in students on its campus. The health department reported 64 of the county's new cases Wednesday were in the 18-22 age group.
The numbers have major implications for the CPS fall schedule. The school district uses the number of new cases over 14 days per 10,000 people to determine whether students will learn in class or online. That number was at 41.8 on Tuesday but shot up to 47.5 on Wednesday, meaning students in class two days a week.
But the rate was close to 50, the number that will cause the district to go to an online-only format.
Missouri back above 1,000 new COVID-19 cases
UPDATE 2:20 P.M.: Missouri's three-day streak of new COVID-19 cases of fewer than 1,000 has ended, pushing the state's rolling positivity rate to more than 12 percent.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported more than double the new COVID-19 cases Wednesday -- 1,426 -- than it did Tuesday -- 692.
The increase brings the state's cases over the course of the pandemic to 78,062. The state reported an additional 10 deaths for a total of 1,449.
The seven-day positivity rate -- a measure of the number of people tested for COVID-19 over the past seven days who received a positive result -- jumped to 12.2 percent Wednesday. The rate was 11.4 percent on Tuesday.
During a news conference earlier Wednesday in the Capitol, Gov. Mike Parson and state health director Dr. Randall Williams said new cases are growing but severe symptoms are being reported in fewer cases as more young people contract the novel coronavirus. The shifting dynamic has pushed the mortality rate for COVID-19 Missouri to about 0.5 percent, Parson said.
The average age of Missourians who have tested positive for novel coronavirus is falling and stood at 40 years old on Wednesday.
The number of patients with COVID-19 in Missouri hospitals dropped back below 900 on Sunday, the last day for which numbers are available, according to the state's online COVID-19 dashboard. Parson said Wednesday that the state's hospitals are well short of their capacity.
Miller County remained in the top 10 of counties for fastest percentage growth in cases after entering that group this week. However, Mid-Missouri's most infected counties by population size remain Pettis and Saline.
The state dashboard reports rapid growth in cases in Boone, Howard, Cole, Miller and Chariton counties.
Boone County reports seventh COVID-19 death
UPDATE 1:15 P.M.: The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported the county's seventh death from COVID-19 on Wednesday.
The person was in the 60-64 age group. The department did not give other details, following its standard practice.
The health department reported the county's sixth death -- a person in their 80s -- on Monday. The reports come as the county is experiencing fast growth in new COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks. Boone County has reported 424 new cases in the last seven days.
University of Missouri reports dozens of new COVID-19 cases
UPDATE 12:35 P.M.: The University of Missouri reported an additional 69 active student cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday compared to its initial report Monday.
MU on Monday unveiled a web page where it posts the numbers of students who have tested positive for novel coronavirus and the number of active cases. With Wednesday's update, the university said 263 students have tested positive and 228 of those cases are active.
The number is 0.7 percent of the student body. MU says 27 students have recovered.
Local health officials have said college-age people are a driving force behind the massive increases in COVID-19 cases in Boone County over the past two weeks. Boone County has reported 424 new cases in the last seven days. During that span, all but two days have seen cases higher than 50 -- 31 on Monday and 41 on Sunday.
The county health department said 44 of the 70 new cases reported Tuesday were in the 18-22 age group. The department says 678 of the county's 2,065 total cases are in that age group.
Gov. Mike Parson said at a briefing in the Capitol on Wednesday that he has been in regular contact with higher education leaders statewide. The surge from college students was expected, he said.
The increase in cases continues to push up a number used by Columbia Public Schools to determine whether in-person classes will take place. That number was 41.8 after Tuesday's report, meaning students will be in school buildings two days per week.
If the number reaches 50, classes will be online-only.
CPS Superintendent Peter Stiepleman spoke with ABC 17 News about the number on Tuesday morning. Watch the interview at this link.
Maries County deputy tests positive for coronavirus
ORIGINAL: A Maries County reserve deputy who volunteered for a shift on Saturday has tested positive for COVID-19.
The Maries County Sheriff's Office shared the information Wednesday on Facebook.
"We believe we have contacted everyone who he had contact with and extra precautions are being taken at our office," Sheriff Chris Heitman said in a social media post.
Heitman recommended that anyone who went to the sheriff's office on Saturday "take the necessary steps to protect yourself and others." Heitman said he believes the deputy picked up the novel coronavirus at church in Jefferson City last Wednesday.
The deputy did not show symptoms until after his shift, Heitman said. The deputy had mild symptoms and seems to be recovering, the sheriff wrote.
