MONDAY UPDATES: Pettis County reports two more COVID-19 related deaths; 2 Morgan County residents die from coronavirus
UPDATE 9:25 P.M.: Pettis County Health Center is reporting two new COVID-19 related deaths.
According to the health center, there are also 30 more new total cases.
The department is also reporting 19 new active cases.
The hospitaliztions in the county went up to 9 from seven.
The health center is also reporting 19 new recoveries going from 864 to 883.
According to the new Missouri dashboard, Pettis County has a positivity rate of 9.26-percent.
Southern Boone School District to close high school for cleaning Tuesday
UPDATE 6:45 P.M.: According to a letter sent to parents Monday, Southern Boone School District will have to close the high school for cleaning after two students tested positive for novel coronavirus.
In the letter, one student came into contact with 25 other students at last week's junior varsity football game.
Administrators say in the letter that the second student was asymptomatic and realized they tested positive for COVID during the day.
Because the student tested positive while at school, officials say they must close the high school for cleaning Tuesday. The high school will reopen Wednesday. All classwork will be done virtually.
The district says it will continue to provide in-seat instruction for preschool through eighth grade.
Administrators ask parents to keep students home if they are being tested for COVID-19 until they get test results.
State of Missouri releases new COVID-19 dashboard
UPDATE 3:56 P.M.: The state of Missouri has released a brand new COVID-19 dashboard to better understand the pandemic in the state.
Starting today, the State of Missouri is launching a new one-stop-shop for the State’s expanded set of COVID-19 dashboards. This includes health data as well as economic and social impact data. The dashboards are designed to be user-friendly for the public. pic.twitter.com/CykPJ7qw2R
— Mo Health & Sr Srvcs (@HealthyLivingMo) September 28, 2020
The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHSS) says the new dashboard will update every morning and will replace the daily update that had been occurring at 2 p.m.
Over the weekend, teams across the state identified and corrected issues with the case count totals, including some instances of cases being counted more than once or cases being marked as confirmed without the correct verification documentation present.
— Mo Health & Sr Srvcs (@HealthyLivingMo) September 28, 2020
This has caused a drop in the reporting of total cases from 123,406 to 123,276.
According to the latest data from DHSS, deaths related to novel coronavirus went up 9 to 2,074.
Blair Oaks elementary teacher tests positive for COVID-19
UPDATE 9:35 A.M.: Blair Oaks School District officials say a 4th-grade teacher tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.
A post on the district's website from Sunday said the teacher was not in school on Friday. It included the Cole County Health Department was contacted to start determining close contacts.
District leaders said proactive steps taken by the teacher led to no students being considered close contacts. The letter included four other teachers were placed on quarantine.
Health officials say the teacher was not exposed to COVID-19 while at school.
2 Morgan County residents die from COVID-19
A social media post from the Morgan County Health Center said two residents died from COVID-19 on Saturday.
The announcement brings coronavirus-related deaths in the county up to eight.
The Facebook post did not include any additional information about the residents.
As of Saturday afternoon, Morgan County health officials said 352 residents have tested positive for COVID-19. Social media posts said 95 of the cases were active and 249 had recovered.
Jefferson City School District reports 10 new COVID-19 cases
The Jefferson City School District reported 10 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend.
In a letter to families on Saturday, JC Schools said five students at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, two students at Jefferson City High School, one student and one staff member at Lewis and Clark Middle School and one student at Jefferson City Academic Center tested positive for the virus.
The ten new cases also added 17 close contacts to quarantine across the district.
Since JC Schools returned to in-person learning, there have been 75 cases and 99 close contacts.
On Monday, 52 cases were still active.
