FRIDAY UPDATES: Two counties reporting COVID-19 related deaths

Miller and Chariton County are reporting COVID-19 related deaths.

According to the Miller County Health Center, one more person has died due to the coronavirus. This brings the county's total to 42. Miller County has the third-highest total of COVID-19 related deaths behind Camden and Cole County.

The county currently has 121 active cases. That brings their total to 1,785 total cases.

Currently the health center is reporting seven residents are hospitalized due to the coronavirus.

In Chariton County, the health center is reporting two additional deaths. That brings their total to seven deaths overall. All seven deaths have occurred in less than one month's time with the county first reporting a COVID-19 related death on Nov. 13.

The county is reporting 117 active cases pushing the total number of cases to 497 overall.

Boone County COVID-19 positivity rate breaks record

Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard is reporting the positivity rate currently sits at 37.3%. That is the highest positivity rate reported, breaking the week of Oct. 30 to Nov. 5 rate of 33.9%.

According to John Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center, the rate of positivity is an important indicator because it can provide insights into whether a community is conducting enough testing to find cases.

The dashboard is also reporting 146 new active cases. That brings the total number of cases to 10,857.

The dashboard is currently reporting 917 active cases, an increase of 40 cases from Wednesday.

The county has reported an additional 106 new cases removed from isolation today bringing the total cases to 9,909.

Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard has reported a 5 case increase to 135 five-day average.

The health department is reporting the total hospitalizations in Boone County to be 149, a four case drop from Thursday.

The number of Boone County residents hospitalized remains at 29.

The dashboard is reporting there is a three case increase to 44 COVID-19 patients in the ICU.

The department reports 16 patients on ventilators, a five patient drop from Thursday.

The hospital status is still currently in the 'yellow' zone.

Boone County extends health order, including mask mandate

Officials have extended a countywide health order requiring masks and limiting the number of people inside businesses.

The health director for Columbia and Boone County put the order in place before Thanksgiving. The order was the first to require that masks be worn throughout Boone County. It was set to expire Tuesday before the extension, which will keep it in place through Dec. 22.

Boone County set a daily coronavirus case record Thursday with 226 new cases after delays in testing and processing results thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday. The county continues to experience a fall surge in cases, reporting a five-day average of new cases of 130.

The county health department has reported four COVID-19 deaths this week. Most of the county's 30 deaths have been reported since mid-October.

"We are just beginning to see how hospitalizations and community spread have been affected by Thanksgiving, so we need to extend the current protocols as we monitor the situation to see what will be needed in the coming weeks,"  Columbia and Boone County health director Stephanie Browning said in a news release.

More than 150 COVID-19 patients are being treated in Boone County hospitals. The county health department said 106 county residents were hospitalized with COVID-19 in November, which is more than the numbers in September and October combined.

The order also requires restaurants that serve alcohol and bars to stop serving drinks at 10:30 p.m.

Mid-Missouri community coronavirus testing sites open next week

Community coronavirus testing sites in Boonville and Jefferson City will open next week.

The sites will test any Missouri resident for novel coronavirus regardless of whether they have symptoms or a doctor's order. The testing relies on self-administered nasal swabs that are less invasive than the standard coronavirus test. People getting tests will not be charged.

Testing will take place from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Cooper County Fairgrounds in Boonville and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at the American Legion hall in Jefferson City.

Online registration is required to get tested.

Several Mid-Missouri sites are also offering "surge testing" overseen by the federal government, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Those testing sites includes pharmacies and Memorial Baptist Church in Columbia, where test samples are taken each Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Here's a link to the full list of surge testing sites.

Testing is open to anyone 5 years old or older who has symptoms or is worried about possibly having coronavirus.

More than 3 million coronavirus tests have been given to Missouri residents, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Weekly test numbers peaked in mid-November but fell off last week with the Thanksgiving holiday.

More Missourians are testing positive for the virus, as well. The state reported more than 4,000 new coronavirus cases Friday and 20 more deaths associated with COVID-19. The state's hospitals continue to set records for numbers of patients with COVID-19.

Missouri reports 4,000 new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations increase

Missouri health officials reported a little more than 4,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday morning.

The state health department's coronavirus dashboard said total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started were up to 313,421 on Friday morning, 4,053 more than the day before.

It's the largest daily case increase this week.

Coronavirus-related deaths increased over the last 24 hours as well going up 20.

The dashboard included Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate was at 20.4% -- unchanged over the last day.

The positivity rate has stayed around the 20 percent mark for the past two weeks. The CDC has said a rate over 10 percent indicates widespread of coronavirus.

Statewide covid hospitalizations rose to 2,803 on Tuesday -- the latest data available. It's the highest amount of coronavirus hospitalizations in more than a week and close to the pandemic record of 2,851 set on Nov. 18.

State hospital officials said Missouri had 23% of its inpatient bed capacity remaining.

The data included 659 were in the ICU with coronavirus-- unchanged from the day before. Less than 20 percent of ICU bed space was still available.