MONDAY UPDATES: Death due to COVID-19 reported in three counties
UPDATE 8:42 P.M.: Randolph, Morgan, and Audrain County are each reporting one new death due to the novel coronavirus.
Randolph County is reporting 12 new cases in the county.
In Morgan County, there are 15 new cases in the county and 17 new recoveries.
In Audrain County, there are 26 new cases.
Boone County records fewest new COVID-19 cases in three weeks as hospitalizations hit high
UPDATE 4:25 P.M.: Boone County's new daily COVID-19 cases hit their lowest level in three weeks Monday.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 43 new novel coronavirus cases in the county Monday. That is the lowest number since the 31 cases reported Aug. 24 -- the first day of classes at the University of Missouri.
Daily cases grew rapidly after that first day of classes, eventually going as high as 221 cases on Sept. 5 before dropping into the double digits, where numbers have remained for nine days.
However, hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19 in Boone County have reached their highest number of the pandemic. The health department reported 61 hospitalizations Monday on its online COVID-19 dashboard.
Of those patients, 21 are in intensive care and seven are on ventilators.
The state reported near-record hospitalizations Monday.
The new Boone County cases Monday brought the county's total for the pandemic to 3,917. The health department said 638 of those cases were active, with 1,123 people in quarantine because of exposure to the novel coronavirus.
College-age people have helped drive the recent surge in Boone County's cases. Of the new cases reported Monday, 21 of them were in people age 18-22 years old.
Active cases among University of Missouri students continued to drop Monday, according to data posted on an MU website. The campus reported 175 fewer active cases compared to Friday. MU says 387 students living in Boone County have active cases.
The streak of lower daily case totals has dropped the five-day average of new cases in Boone County to 63.6. That number peaked at 143.4 on Sept. 5.
The streak has also helped a case rate tracked by Columbia Public Schools to fall about 10 points in the last week. However, that number remains well above the threshold CPS administrators set for all-online learning.
Eight students and staff test positive at JC Schools
UPDATE 3:47 P.M.:
Jefferson City School District reported eight new novel coronavirus cases between students and staff.
In the district's Saturday update, six students tested positive at all education levels. One student tested positive at North Elementary, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Jefferson City High School, Capital City High School, Pioneer Trail Elementary and Lewis & Clark Middle School.
One staff member tested positive at East Elementary School and one at Pioneer Trail Elementary.
Students that were listed as close contacts were at the following locations:
- two students at North Elementary,
- two students at Thomas Jefferson Middle School,
- one student at Jefferson City High School,
- four students at Capital City High School,
- one student at Lewis & Clark Middle School, and
- four students at Pioneer Trail Elementary.
The district reports there are a total of 23 cases in at Jefferson City schools.
Missouri's COVID-19 hospitalizations exceed 1,000
UPDATE 2:35 P.M.: The number of patients in Missouri hospitals with COVID-19 remained elevated Monday, with the latest data available reflecting one of the highest numbers of the pandemic.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' online COVID-19 dashboard reported 1,010 hospitalizations as of Friday, the most recent data available. That number is the second-highest of the pandemic, under only the 1,040 recorded last Wednesday.
The increase comes as the state continues to see high case rates with positivity levels well above 10%. Federal health officials have warned about the widespread novel coronavirus activity happening in the state.
However, Missouri's new daily COVID-19 cases have declined for two days straight.
The Department of Health and Senior Services reported 1,332 new cases Monday for a total of 104,079 since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Despite the third straight day of decline, the seven-day positivity rate increased by four-tenths of a percent to reach 12%.
The positivity rate is a measure of the percentage of people tested for novel coronavirus who get a positive result.
The number of deaths increased by nine statewide for a total of 1,714 since the pandemic began.
Health officials have said more young people are testing positive for the novel coronavirus during this summer's case surge. However, the seven-day average of those testing positive for COVID-19 stood at 40 on Monday, up from 38 last week.
Free community testing available in Columbia
ORIGINAL: The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is teaming up with the Missouri National Guard to offer free community COVID-19 testing in Columbia Monday.
The National Guard will be at The Crossing church from noon until 7 p.m. for testing Monday then again from 7 a.m. until noon on Tuesday.
Anyone interested does not need a doctor's note, but does have to register on the health department website.
At the testing event, the state will use self-administered nasal swab tests that the state public health laboratory said are less invasive and safer for staff at the event.
