WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Sturgeon R-V School district moves to remote learning
UPDATE 6:48 P.M.: With an increase in student and staff quarantines, Sturgeon R-V School district is moving to remote learning.
The district will continue in-seat instruction until the end of the day on Friday, transitioning to remote learning on Nov. 17.
Remote learning will go through Nov. 24 then the district will have their scheduled Thanksgiving break.
Officials say they hope to return to in-seat classes on Dec. 1.
A decision about athletics and activities will be made at a later date.
During this closure, the school district will provide food service to all children in the district.
Boone County reports 175 new COVID-19 cases; hospitals report yellow status
UPDATE 5:05 P.M.: Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 175 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of 36 cases from Tuesday.
The number of active cases increased from 1,014 to 1,122. Another 1,745 people are in quarantine because of coronavirus exposure.
The department is reporting 149 hospitalizations and 47 patients are in the ICU and 20 are on ventilators.
According to the department, 30 of those patients are from Boone County.
The hospital status is still currently in the 'yellow' zone.
Yellow status is the hospitals are operating within the standard capacity and meeting any of the following criteria:
- Delaying non-emergency patient transfers from referring hospitals due to capacity for greater than two (2) days, or
- Delaying non-emergency patient transfers from referring hospitals due to staffing for greater than two (2) consecutive days, or
- Delaying non-urgent procedures and operations to provide additional inpatient capacity
CPS 14-day rate tracker breaks record
UPDATE 4:44 P.M.: Columbia Public Schools 14-day rate tracker has set a new record rate with 91.9 cases per 10,000. This breaks the previous record of 91.4 set on Sept. 7.
The tracker reports 146 new cases in the district.
The district is reporting one new teacher tested positive and five were considered close contacts. The district currently has 15 teachers that have COVID-19 and 112 on quarantine.
The district is reporting 44 students are positive with COVID-19 and 505 that are quarantined due to possible exposure.
Jefferson City School District to transition middle and high schools to distance learning
UPDATE: 4:20 p.m.: The Jefferson City School District has decided to transition middle and high school students to distance learning due to a growing staff shortage.
According to the release, Thursday will be the last week of in-seat learning for those students this week and no school Friday so staff can prepare for the transition.
Virtual learning for middle and high school students will begin on Monday and continue through Nov. 20.
All school district buildings will be closed during the week of Thanksgiving.
Teachers will teach students via Google Classroom and connect live with students for a portion of each class throughout the school day.
Meals will be made available for pick-up between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at LCMS, TJMS, JCHS and CCHS.
All extra-curricular activities will continue with normal operations and practice and game schedules.
Students could resume in-seat learning as soon as after Nov. 30. However, if that changes for any reason staff and parents will be notified.
Saline County reports 16 COVID-19 related death
UPDATE 3:33 P.M.: Saline County Health Department is reporting its 16th COVID-19 related death. Saline County has the fifth most death in mid-Missouri
The health department reports a 63-year-old male has passed away.
According to their update, there are 47 new total cases bringing the total to 1,322.
The number of active cases is up 35 to 207 coronavirus cases.
The department is reporting 11 new recoveries with 1,099 recovered overall.
Missouri drops out of top 10 for some nationwide rankings; hospitalizations, positivity rate continue setting records
ORIGINAL 9:02 A.M.: Missouri was outside the top 10 states for new COVID-19 cases and deaths, according to the state health department's coronavirus dashboard.
According to the health data, the state was 11th in the nation for new cases of the last seven days, 25,948, and 18th for new virus deaths over the same time period, 58.
The most recent White House "Red Zone" report placed Missouri at 8th in the country for its positivity rate.
Missouri's rankings have dropped after being featured near the top five for both categories earlier in the pandemic.
While the state has fared better than others over the last week, hospitalizations and positivity rates have continued to set and break records recently.
The health department said virus-related hospitalizations were up to 2,146, an increase of 91 from the day before. The data included 486 coronavirus patients were in ICU beds, up 29 from Tuesday.
Missouri's seven-day positivity rate hit a new high for both the state and CDC calculations. According to the data, the DHSS-calculated rate was up to 39.9%, a 0.5% increase from the day before. The CDC rate went up to 21%, 1.5 percent higher than Tuesday's rate.
The dashboard said the positivity rate has been on a steep incline since Oct. 21.
Health officials said Missouri added 4,071 new COVID-19 cases since Tuesday's update topped out at 216,697. The state also added 24 new deaths over the last day.
