SATURDAY UPDATES: Boone County shatters daily case total record, CPS case rate spikes
UPDATE 7:00 P.M.: Phelps-Maries County Health Department has reported two school districts with a positive COVID-19 case.
According to the Maries County R-II School district's Facebook, a studentt at Belle Elementary has tested positive for COVID-19. Following guidelines from the Health Department, the entire classroom will be quarantined for 14 days.
No further action is being taken by the district at this time.
Anthoer district, St. James R-I School district has also found a St. James Middle School staff member tested positive for coronavirus. The students, their families, and other staff members in close contact with this individual have or are being notified by the Phelps-Maries County Health Department.
The Facebook post went on to say a full closure is not happening at this time, and the district will continue to work with the health department.
UPDATE 6:00 P.M.: The number Columbia Public Schools keeps tabs on to decide whether or not to go fully online continued it's sharp increase Saturday.
The number that CPS uses to determine how classes will be conducted when school starts Sept. 8 passed a key threshold Thursday, with the 14-day rate of cases per 10,000 people in the district hitting 61.5.
If Columbia Public Schools classes were to start today, they might take place entirely online.
CPS leaders set out three tiers for cases levels based on a model used in Minnesota. If the number hits 50 or more, classes are likely to happen only online, after consulting with health officials. If they're between 10 and 49, students will go to class twice a week.
If the rate falls below 10, students will be in class five days a week.
The number has been spiking along with the large numbers in daily case totals in Boone County over the past week. On Friday the rate was at 55.3 after breaking into the above 50 zone on Thursday.
UPDATE 4:15 P.M.: Boone County shattered the record for daily case totals, reporting 131 new cases on Saturday.
That brings the total number of cases in the county to 2,447 cases. Of those, 620 are currently active.
UPDATE 2:30 P.M.: The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 32 new deaths due to COVID-19 on Saturday, with new cases staying nearly hitting 1,200.
In total, 1,496 people have died in relation to COVID-19 in the state.
In Missouri, 1,198 cases reported on Saturday. The state now reported a total of 83,190 cases of the virus. Just over 10,000 of those cases are in the 20-24 year old age range.
The 7 day positivity rate hovered in the same area as of Friday, slightly going down to 12.2% on Saturday.
