THURSDAY UPDATES: Camden County reports mid-Missouri leading 40th COVID-19 related death
UPDATE 7:24 P.M.: Camden County Health Department is providing an update for the first in two weeks.
According to the health department, there have reported 2,124 total cases, an increase of 357 in the last 14 days.
The number of active cases has now reached 390, up from 263 on 10/30.
The county has reported three more deaths, bringing the total to 40. They have the most COVID-19 related deaths in mid-Missouri.
The department is reporting the number of patients recovered has gone up to 1,694.
The health department would like to remind everyone to please stay home if you don't feel well, wash and sanitize your hands often, keep your physical distance, and please wear a mask if you are physically able to do so.
Cole County reports 24th COVID-19 related death
UPDATE 5:50 P.M.: Cole County Health Department is reporting one new COVID-19 related death. That brings the total for the county to 24. Only Pettis, Miller and Camden County have reported more COVID-19 related deaths since the pandemic started in March.
The health department is reporting 200 new cases over the past two days with 122 reported on Wednesday and 78 reported Thursday.
The total number of COVID-19 cases is now 4,196.
The county is reporting 555 active cases, a 16 case increase since Tuesday.
The county reported 189 new recoveries since Tuesday bringing the total to 3,442.
CPS 14-day rate reaches record high, triple-digit new cases in the district
UPDATE 5:20 P.M.: Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 176 new COVID-19 cases.
The number of active cases increased from 1,122 to 1,190.
The department is reporting 149 hospitalizations and 41 patients are in the ICU and 19 are on ventilators.
According to the department, 29 of those patients are from Boone County.
The hospital status is still currently in the 'yellow' zone.
Columbia Public Schools 14-day rate tracker has set a new record rate with 97.6 cases per 10,000. This breaks Wednesday's record of 91.9.
The tracker reports 146 new cases in the district for the second day in a row.
The district is reporting five new teacher tested positive and 12 were considered close contacts. The district currently has 20 teachers that have COVID-19 and 111 on quarantine.
The district is reporting 44 students are positive with COVID-19 and 571 that are quarantined due to possible exposure.
Montgomery County reports two COVID-19 deaths since Monday
UPDATE 5:02 P.M.: Montgomery County Health Department is reporting two new coronavirus related deaths since Monday. There are now 17 COVID-19 related deaths in the county.
According to their update, there are 28 new total cases bringing the total to 405 overall.
The number of active cases dropped by more than half from 146 to 70.
The number of recoveries rose over 100 from 216 to 318.
Randolph County reports 10th COVID-19 death
UPDATE 4:12 P.M.: Randolph County Health Department is reporting the 10th COVID-19 related death in the county.
According to the health department, there are 87 new total cases bringing the total to 1,097.
According to officials, 28 COVID-19 patients were released from isolation raising the overall total to 736.
The county is reporting 15 of the active cases are currently in the hospital.
The Missouri Department Of Corrections is reporting 96 active inmate cases at Moberly Correctional Center and 25 active staff cases.
Rising COVID-19 cases cause visitor restrictions at MU Health clinics and hospitals
UPDATE 3:23 P.M.: MU Health Care is adding restrictions to visitors if they want to visit one of the hospitals and clinics beginning Friday.
Officials say the restrictions are in response to the rising number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the region.
The guidelines include:
- No visitors allowed at any hospitals except:
- One person for outpatient surgeries and procedures where sedation is used.
- One partner, spouse and coach in labor and delivery.
- Parents or guardians of hospitalized pediatric patients.
- When patients are nearing end of life.
Additional restrictions for clinics will be implemented Nov. 23 to include:
- One visitor allowed for clinic visits only in the following situations:
- Visits related to pregnancy.
- Patients with physical or mental limitations.
- Visits involving pediatric patients.
- New or significantly changed oncology diagnosis.
“The COVID-19 prevalence has increased significantly in the region,” said Mark Wakefield, MD, MU Health Care associate chief medical officer. “These additional restrictions are necessary to ensure we can continue to safely provide all patients with the best care possible. Now, more than ever, it’s critically important that everyone do their part to stop the trend of rising COVID-19 cases by wearing a mask, social distancing and practicing good hand hygiene.”
Officials at MU Health say the restrictions are designed to protect employees, patients and visitors.
Southern Boone High School moves to virtual learning
UPDATE 2:10 P.M.: Southern Boone School Superintendent Chris Felmlee said the high school will move to virtual learning until Nov. 30.
The superintendent said the other schools in the district would continue learning in-person.
According to the district's COVID-19 dashboard, 177 high school students were in quarantine and 10 had active cases as of Thursday. The data included four staff members have active COVID-19 cases and six total were in quarantine.
Felmlee said there are about 500 students in the high school.
The high school closed temporarily in September because of COVID-19 exposure.
Doctors ask for help as Missouri COVID-19 rates continue sharp rise
UPDATE 9:33 A.M.: Top doctors at hospitals in Columbia and Jefferson City are among those urging Missourians to protect health care workers as COVID-19 cases continue at a record pace statewide.
The group of doctors includes Robin Blount with Boone Hospital Center, Mark Wakefield with University of Missouri Health Care, Stephen Stewart with St. Mary's Hospital and Randall Haight with Capital Region Medical Center.
"As physician leaders of hospitals and health systems throughout the state of Missouri, we are united in fighting the spread of COVID-19," the doctors said in the joint statement distributed by the Missouri Hospital Association. "Every region of the state is experiencing increases in positive cases, and hospitalizations are surging. This is putting incredible stress on doctors, nurses, therapists, custodians, and food services and support staff who will continue to suffer additional stress and risk their own infection, illness and mortality."
Missouri reported 4,603 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the largest increase since Saturday. The state has reported 225,371 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began. Missouri reported 16 new deaths Thursday for a total of 3,339.
The positivity rate over the past seven days -- the percentage of people tested for coronavirus who get a positive result -- was at 40.8%, several times higher than the level that indicates widespread transmission of the virus.
Missouri stands at 11th among the 50 states for cases over the past week and eighth in deaths, according to the state's COVID-19 dashboard. The state remains in the White House's "red zone" because of its high rate of new cases. Much of Mid-Missouri is in the zone, as well.
The doctors in their statement said "it is imperative" that everyone in Missouri take steps to prevent spreading the disease such as wearing a mask, social distancing and hand washing. The statement urged Gov. Mike Parson "to continue to promote the message that Missourians’ help and compliance is necessary to help prevent catastrophic increases in hospital admissions."
Missouri's COVID-19 hospitalizations have been trending upward since August and continue to break records. The state's hospitals reported a record 2,413 COVID-19 patients Wednesday and a seven-day average of 2,178.
Boone County's hospitals released a statement this week about the toll COVID-19 is taking on resources and staff. The county health department rolled out a color-coded system to report hospitals' available resources this week. Local hospitals are in "yellow" status on the red-yellow-green scale.
The status means one or more of the county's hospitals is taking measures to restrict admissions because of COVID-19 that include delayed non-emergency transfers and non-urgent procedures and operations.
JeffTran suspends service because of virus-related staffing shortage
ORIGINAL: JeffTran is suspending its service because of a staffing shortage related to the coronavirus.
A tweet from JeffTran said service will cut off at noon on Thursday. It included service will be suspended through at least Monday.
Cole County has set records for new COVID-19 cases recently. As of Tuesay, 539 county resident were in isolation and 3,804 have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic started.
On Tuesday, the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City shutdown a majority of its services also because of staffing shortages. It's closed through Sunday.
