TUESDAY UPDATES: JC School District reports 2 new facilities reporting their first COVID-19 case on campus
UPDATE 9:05 P.M.: Jefferson City School District is reporting more COVID-19 cases on district campuses.
According to the District's website, there are eight new student cases and two new staff cases.
There are now 17 students and staff that need to quarantine due to close contact with COVID-19 cases.
Positive tests were reported at:
- Lawson Elementary (one student; two students and two staff quarantine)
- Jefferson City High School (three students; seven students quarantine)
- Moreau Height Elementary (two staff; four students quarantine)
- Lewis & Clark Middle School (two students; one student quarantine)
- Jefferson City Academic Center (one student; one student quarantine)
- Nichols Career Center (one student)
Macon School District cancels athletics and other activities after COVID-19 outbreak
UPDATE 8 P.M.: Macon School District Superintendent Scott Jarvis sent a letter home to parents of students Monday about the COVID-19 outbreak in the district.
Macon School District reports 286 students have been quarantined after a double-digit number of students test positive for COVID-19.
Macon School District is reporting positive student cases at all four buildings.
There is also a positive teacher case at the middle and high school.
In the district, 15 staff members are either being tested, quarantined, or positive with the virus.
The district started virtual instruction today to help stop the infection.
On September 28, the district plans to use a hybrid "A and B days" when they return to in-person instruction.
All school athletics, practices and events are canceled until further notice.
Free Lunch in Macon School District
The district will also provide free meals until Sept. 30.
Curbside pickup is available for noon to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
You must call to reserve your meal each day.
Cole and Randolph County provide updates on their handling of the pandemic
UPDATE 7:27 P.M.: Several counties are providing updates to their coronavirus tracking.
Cole County
Cole County is reporting a second straight day of new novel coronavirus cases under 20.
The Cole County Health Department is reporting 15 new COVID-19 cases for a total of 1,192 cases. Active cases dropped by 24 to 121.
Cole County is currently following the State of Missouri "Show-Me Strong Recovery" plan.
Randolph County
Randolph County is reporting a death due to coronavirus from Monday.
The Randolph County Health Department is reporting nine new COVID-19 cases for a total of 229 cases. Active cases went up by six to 62 total.
Randolph County currently has seven active cases hospitalized.
The county is reporting 165 people have been released from isolation.
The county provided a graphic on how to know when to start and end a quarantine.
Boone County new COVID-19 cases remain below 100
UPDATE 5:10 P.M.: Boone County's new COVID-19 cases grew by double digits Tuesday but remained below 100.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 69 new novel coronavirus infections Tuesday for a total of 3,986. Active cases dropped by 62 for a total of 576.
Tuesday marks the 10th straight day with fewer than 100 new cases in Boone County.
Another 1,115 county residents are in quarantine because of exposure to the virus. Sixteen county residents were hospitalized Tuesday.
The additional data posted daily on the department's online COVID-19 dashboard was not updated Tuesday evening after health officials announced a massive data correction tied to the rate of positive tests.
The University of Missouri reported 332 active cases in students living in Boone County on Tuesday. The total is a decrease of 55 compared to Monday.
COVID-19 rate tracked by Columbia Public Schools continues to fall
UPDATE 4:50 P.M.: The COVID-19 case rate tracked by Columbia Public Schools fell for an eighth straight day Tuesday.
CPS is tracking the number of cases per 10,000 people in the district over 14 days to help guide its decision on whether students learn in-person or online. Administrators targeted 50 as the rate at which students would learn all-online but the decision is ultimately up to the school board.
The rate shot to 91.4 on Sept. 7 as Boone County saw a large surge in new COVID-19 cases, but has since fallen to 77.
The Columbia Board of Education decided last month to have students learning outside of school buildings through September. The board met again Monday and heard an outline of a phased approach to bring students back into classrooms but did not take action.
Boone County has not updated COVID-19 data on its online dashboard for Tuesday.
University of Missouri fields questions about student COVID-19 discipline
UPDATE 3:30 P.M.: The University of Missouri held a news conference to field questions about disciplinary action taken against students related to COVID-19.
MU said in an email sent out Tuesday afternoon two students have been expelled and three others were suspended for violating the university's COVID-19 policies.
Watch the news conference in the player below.
Missouri new COVID-19 cases stay steady while rate increases
UPDATE 2:25 P.M.: New COVID-19 cases stayed steady in Missouri on Tuesday while the rate of infection increased and hospitalizations remained near record highs.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 1,317 new cases Tuesday for a total of 105,396. The state reported 18 more deaths for a total of 1,732.
The state reported just 15 fewer new cases Tuesday than on Monday but the seven-day positivity rate increased from 12% to 12.3%. The rate is the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who test positive.
Health experts say a rate higher than 10% is cause for concern.
The rate has been on an upward trend throughout the summer as counties around the state see more transmission of the novel coronavirus. The surge has been seen in Mid-Missouri counties, as well. As of Tuesday Boone County had the seventh-most cases of any jurisdiction statewide, according to the department's online COVID-19 dashboard.
Statewide hospitalizations have also been on a general upward trend over the past week. The number of patients in Missouri hospitals with COVID-19 was at 1,021 on Saturday, the most recent figure available. That number was at 933 on Sept. 7.
The record is 1,040, recorded last Wednesday.
University of Missouri expels two students and suspends others for 'threatening the safety of MU campus'
UPDATE 1:05 P.M.: The University of Missouri said in an email sent out Tuesday afternoon two students have been expelled and three others were suspended for violating the university's COVID-19 policies.
The release included 11 university organizations are under investigation also for suspected policy violations.
MU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Bill Stackman, said in the email "parties and other blatant violations of the safety guidelines have occurred."
"The university will not hesitate to hold those flouting the rules accountable," Stackman said.
The email did not list the organizations under investigation or the names of the students disciplined.
Weeks ago, the university implemented a ban on social gatherings of 20 or more because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Stackman emphasized in the email parties and other gatherings have led to the spread of COVID-19 on-campus. He added tailgating will not be permitted this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Boone County health authorities correct COVID-19 rate
ORIGINAL: The COVID-19 positivity rate in Boone County never approached 50%.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services issued a correction Tuesday, saying because of data transmission problems positivity rates for past weeks were incorrect.
That includes a positivity rate of 44.6 percent for the week that ended Aug. 27.
On Tuesday the department said the rate was actually a mere 8.9 percent.
The incorrect information came from a lab not transmitting to the state data about negative results, the health department said in a news release. The department said public policy decisions such as the current Columbia and Boone County health orders are not based solely on the positivity rate -- a measure of the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are positive in a given week.
""The updated positivity rate still indicates an increase in the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and that there should be an increased focus on testing availability within Boone County," health department director Stephanie Browning said in the release.
Browning said health order decisions were made using several factors.
"The positivity rate provides insight into how the COVID-19 virus has spread within our county over time, but it is not the sole tool when making decisions," Browning said. "Our PHHS team continues to look at all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it may affect the health and safety of all those who live in Boone County."
The revelation of the incorrect rates has led the department to change how it reports results related to the positivity rate. The department had been reporting numbers based on when the test was reported. Now the department will report those based on the date of test.
A revised graph released by the department shows the positivity rate has continued to climb in recent weeks, even though it never neared the 50% mark.
That number was 24.1 percent for the week that ended Thursday, and 16.8 percent the week before that.
