MONDAY UPDATES: Missouri DHSS adds 161 COVID-19 to state dashboard
UPDATE 11:35 P.M.: Missouri DHSS has added 161 COVID-19 related deaths after state’s disease surveillance system analyzed several death certificates.
Officails say the deaths will be captured and reported publicly through the dashboard Tuesday morning.
One of the 161 deaths occurred in September, and 41 occurred in October. 119 of the deaths occurred earlier this month in November.
Officials at DHSS report the weekly activity typically causes a sharp increase in the deaths added to Missouri’s total the following day. DHSS is now regularly analyzing death certificates on Mondays.
Sturgeon Board of Aldermen to vote on mask ordinance Wednesday
UPDATE 6:50 P.M.: The Sturgeon Board of Aldermen decided to have a mask ordinance drafted and plan to vote on it Wednesday night at 6.
The move came after a 3-2, with Mayor Steve Crosswhite strongly encouraging the city to pass a mask mandate.
He said most businesses right now encourage customers to wear masks but without a mask mandate, there is little they can do when someone doesn't want to wear one.
Based on the discussion between the aldermen, the ordinance will likely last for 30 days.
The mayor said COVID-19 is spreading out beyond Columbia and deeper into the county and that Sturgeon has seen a recent spike as well.
UPDATE 6:20 P.M.: Cole County reports nearly 300 cases from over the weekend.
According to the Cole County Health Department dashboard there was 296 new cases total.
That brings the overall total to 5,202 since March.
The county has recently changed how they account for cases. The health department now reports positive cases as when they were tested and not when reported.
Miller County Health Center is reporting the 36th COVID-19 related death since March.
According to the health center 24 of the 36 deaths were from long term care facilities.
The county is also reporting 139 active cases.
There have been 1,548 total coronavirus cases in the county.
CPS 14-day tracker breaks record; Jefferson City School District reports five new cases
UPDATE 5:28 P.M.: Columbia Board of Education 14-day rate tracker has reached 111.7 cases per 10,000. That is a record for the district.
The district is reporting seven new staff tested positive and 15 are considered close contacts. The district currently has 26 staff that have COVID-19 and 87 on quarantine.
Currently the district is reporting 34 students are positive with COVID-19 and 220 that are quarantined due to possible exposure.
In the Jefferson City School District, they are reporting five more COVID-19 positive cases in the district.
One student and four staff were confirmed positive Monday.
One student is considered a close contact and must quarantine.
The district has reported 368 total cases in the district. Students account for 204 of those cases and staff account as 164 of the cases.
There have been 505 contacts forced to quarantine because of the coronavirus.
Boone County reports 171 residents hospitalized due to COVID-19
UPDATE 4:44 P.M.: Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 171 patients are currently hospitalized.
Currently there are 50 Boone County COVID-19 patients in the ICU.
Boone County also reported adding 100 new active cases bringing the total of COVID-19 cases to 9,511.
The county has reported 8,558 cases removed from isolation.
Over the weekend, the five-day average jumped to 169 on Sunday. Today's five-day average has dropped by nine to 160.
The positivity rate currently sits at 26.9% a drop from Oct. 30 to Nov. 6 record rate of 33.5%.
The number of Boone County residents hospitalized is currently 25.
The department reports 18 patients on ventilators.
The hospital status is still currently in the 'yellow' zone.
Callaway County makes residents their own coronavirus contact tracers
UPDATE 2:10 P.M.: The Callaway County Health Department has followed Cole County in designating coronavirus patients their own contact tracers.
The health department said in a news release Monday that the change took effect last Tuesday. Health department leaders cited several factors in making the change, including the five to seven days it often takes for the health department to be notified of positive results.
The department said people who test positive will be given information about what to do when they get their positive result. The change will allow people who test positive to immediately begin getting in touch with close contacts instead of waiting for a call from contact tracers, the department said.
"Each positive case will be expected to notify their close contacts. This will eliminate the wait time and help stop people from unknowingly spreading the virus. It is our hope that people will feel more comfortable telling their contacts about their positive results versus a stranger on the phone," the department said in a statement.
Callaway County reported 795 active cases Monday. Eleven county residents with COVID-19 have died.
Cole County announced a similar move Nov. 12.
Moniteau County issues health warning; state reports fewer available hospital beds
UPDATE 12:40 P.M.: Moniteau County is the latest in Mid-Missouri to adopt the statewide health warning published last week amid fast-rising coronavirus cases.
The state released a health warning last Thursday that advises Missouri residents to take measures such as wearing a mask, using social distance and limiting Thanksgiving travel to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. Missouri officials released the warning as new infections continue at an unprecedented level and health-care providers urge more action to reduce the spread of the virus.
The health warning is not binding, despite calls from medical groups and others for Gov. Mike Parson to issue a statewide mask mandate.
The Moniteau County Health Center issued the warning Monday. The health center said in a news release that the county is seeing the same "extreme outbreak of COVID-19" that is affecting the whole country. The county reported 116 active cases on Friday.
In the health warning, county officials said Moniteau County is in the most critical category of coronavirus case rates, with a positivity rate of 33.6% and a seven-day case rate per 100,000 of 545. The health center reported Friday that 15 Moniteau County residents with COVID-19 have died.
Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin endorsed the state's warning on Friday. Like Moniteau County, Jefferson City has no health order in place.
Missouri hospital bed availability down as report adjusted to account for staffing
The Missouri Hospital Association revised the number of available hospital beds in the state, reducing the figure by hundreds.
A Missouri Hospital Association spokesman said the change is meant to reflect realities on the ground as more health-care workers quarantine because of coronavirus exposure or are infected. The new capacity accounts for staff levels in addition to equipment and space.
"What we are seeing now — approximately half of the capacity we reported yesterday — is illustrative of what we have been hearing from the front lines," spokesman Dave Dillon said.
The number of available beds reported statewide dropped from more than 15,000 on Friday to just 8,198 on Sunday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services online COVID-19 dashboard. Capacity in the central region dropped from more than 1,800 on Wednesday to a little more than 1,000 on Sunday.
Only 25% of hospital beds statewide were available Sunday, with 22% of intensive care beds available. In the central region, 37% of beds and 38% of intensive care beds were available.
"While this data provides and alarming picture of where we are, it also underscores the need for Missourians to be part of the solution," Dillon said. "The hospitalization challenges reflect high transmission rates. And, with Thanksgiving this week, we can expect that if Missourians don’t take public health precautions seriously, transmission and the need for additional hospital care will soar."
Hy-Vee brings back shopping for high-risk people
The Hy-Vee supermarket chain this week reinstated its hour each morning for people at high risk for the worst COVID-19 complications.
The chain said each morning from 7 to 8 a.m. will be reserved for shoppers over 60, expectant mothers and people with underlying conditions that put them at greater risk for COVID-19 complications.
Hy-Vee was among the many retailers setting aside hours for high-risk shoppers in the spring but stopped the practice as case rates dropped. The store cited surging cases as the reason for bringing back the policy.
Hy-Vee has stores in Columbia, Jefferson City and Osage Beach.
Boone County records 300-plus coronavirus cases over weekend
UPDATE 11:45 A.M.: The Boone County health department reported more than 300 new coronavirus cases over the weekend, releasing the numbers on the same morning county leaders suggested an upcoming vote on a mask requirement.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 120 new cases Saturday and another 210 on Sunday, bringing the county's total to 9,411 since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Of those, 1,212 cases are active and another 1,035 people are in quarantine because of exposure to coronavirus, according to the department's online COVID-19 hub.
The cases over the weekend pushed the five-day average of new daily cases to 169, a new record. The county's hospitals reported 153 patients with COVID-19, including 44 in intensive care and 16 on ventilators.
The surge in cases around Mid-Missouri continues to strain hospital resources. Boone County's hospitals are in yellow status, according to the health department, which means some are delaying transfers and non-urgent procedures to deal with the extra load of COVID-19 patients.
Earlier Monday, Boone County leaders discussed the possibility of a mask order that could take effect next month. Columbia already has a mask order in place but the requirement does not extend past the city limits.
County health officials have said more new cases are coming from outside Columbia as the virus spreads at an unprecedented rate.
The weekend cases helped push the number of cases over the past 14 days in the Columbia Public Schools boundaries to 110.4. The school board has voted to keep students out of classrooms until January.
Boone County leaders consider countywide mask order
UPDATE 10:55 A.M.: Boone County leaders are considering a mask order for the entire county after a Monday morning conference call with other community leaders.
Boone County Commissioners said they are working to have an order ready by Dec. 1.
Presiding Commissioner Dan Atwill said the key to overcoming the pandemic is having all local municipalities enact a mask order of some sort.
No community leaders from Ashland, Centralia, Harrisburg, Hallsville or Sturgeon were opposed to having a mask order on the books. Multiple participants on the conference call said a countywide order would bolster other citywide mandates.
It wasn't clear from the leaders what a countywide mask order would look like, or how it would be enforced. Previously, the Boone County Commission has strayed away from implementing a mask mandate.
Ashland City Administrator Tony St. Romaine said the city's board of aldermen approved a mask advisory over the weekend.
St. Romaine said the city considered implementing a mandate similar to Columbia's but enforcement was the leading concern from Ashland leaders.
"We don't want to be the mask police, so enforcement is an issue," St. Romaine said. "Ashland just doesn't have the resources."
He added all city staff are required to wear masks when working directly with residents and anyone going into city hall must wear a mask.
Sturgeon Mayor Steve Crosswhite said the city's board of aldermen is reviewing a mask mandate during a meeting Monday night.
Columbia/Boone County health department director said Boone County COVID-19 cases continue to increase and that cases have been on the rise outside of Columbia over the last two weeks.
The community leaders also discussed how a masking order could affect businesses. Boone County Northern Commissioner Janet Thompson said businesses could have issues mandating masks if there is no order in place.
Browning agreed with Thompson and said the pandemic has been especiallhy hard on business owners who have been trying to keep employees healthy.
As of Monday, Columbia has had a mask mandate in effect since July.
Missouri reports 3,000+ new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations remain high
Statewide COVID-19 cases went up by more than 3,000 over the last 24 hours, according to Missouri's state health department.
The department of health and senior services coronavirus dashboard said positive COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started reached 274,897 on Monday, up 3,370 from the day before.
Health officials also reported two new COVID-19 deaths over the last day, going up to 3,561.
Department data included the state is nearing 3 million total COVID-19 tests.
Health officials say 2,805 were hospitalized on Friday, the most recent data available according to the dashboard. It's a decrease of 22 from the day before.
The data included 647 were admitted to ICU beds, one more over the last 24 hours. It's another record high since the pandemic started.
Department officials say the CDC-calculated seven-day posivity rate hit 21%.
