THURSDAY UPDATES: Cole County reports 43 new COVID-19 cases
Cole County Health Department is reporting 43 new COVID-19 cases.
The daily case totals will reflect the date the specimen was collected instead of the date the results were received by the Health Department.
The Capital Region Medical Center says,
The medical community is making incredible strides in the fight against COVID-19. We have an approved vaccine which is currently being given to select high risk groups. However, we still need to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines to reduce the spread of transmission and protect ourselves and our neighbors.
Capital Region Medical Center
The weekly positivity rate has dropped to its lowest level since the week of Sept. 27.
Pettis County reports two more COVID-19 related deaths
Pettis County Heatlh Center is reporting two more COVID-19 related deaths. That brings the total number of deaths
The county is reporting there are 603 active cases, a drop of 41 from Wednesday's update.
There are 3,862 total coronavirus cases since March.
The health center is reporting 3,210 of those cases are considered recovered.
Currently, there are 20 Pettis County residents in hospitalized due to the coronavirus.
Boone County Commission awards over $275,000 in CARES Act Funding
The Boone County Commission continues CARES Act Funding with five new contracts given out today at their meeting.
The following are the recipient organizations:
- Cedar Creek Amendment #1 $1,110.63
- Centralia R-VI School District $134,300.00
- Harrisburg R-VIII School District $60,400.00
- Sturgeon R-V School District $43,200.00
- Columbia Independent School $36,300.00
As of this week, the County Commission has just over two million dollars left in CARES Act Funding to give out. The county has obligated over $19 million since receiving the funding.
Boone County reports over 1,000+ active cases for first time in four days
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 173 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of 49 cases from Wednesday.
The dashboard is currently reporting 1,021 active cases, an increase of 124 cases from Wednesday. This is the first time active cases were above 1,000-plus since the county reported weekend numbers.
The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 12,427 since March.
The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 11,363, an increase of 58 cases from Monday.
The health department reported earlier today three new COVID-19 related deaths. The individuals were in the following age groups 60-64, 75-79 and 80+.
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard has reported the latest five-day average as 119.
The dashboard is reporting the positivity rate currently sits at 34.1% for Dec. 4 through last Thursday.
The health department is reporting the total hospitalizations in Boone County at 136 cases, a drop of four from Wednesday.
The number of Boone County residents hospitalized is reported to be 27, an increase of six.
The dashboard is reporting 40 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and 16 patients on ventilators.
The hospital status is still currently in the 'yellow' zone.
Two mid-Missouri counties reporting COVID-19 related deaths
Howard and Audrain County are each reporting a coronavirus related death in their latest health department updates.
In Howard County, the public health department reported a fourth resident has died. That person's death was reported on Tuesday.
The health department is reporting 64 active cases and 879 total cases.
The county has reported 811 residents have recovered from the coronavirus since March.
The department reports a drop in residents hospitalized from eight to two.
In Audrain County, the health department is reporting three new coronavirus related deaths. That brings the total number of deaths in the county to 31.
The health department is reporting 1,301 total cases since March.
Currently, the county has seen an increase of 26 new active cases reporting 211 active cases.
The health department is reporting 10 new recoveries bringing the total to 1,059 total recoveries.
The county is reporting the city of Mexico has over 80-percent (170) of the cases in the county. Vandalia is reporting 15 of the cases.
The county will no report any city with less than 10 cases due to privacy issues.
Boone County extends health order another month
Boone County's health director extended a countywide mask mandate Thursday.
The mandate is part of a COVID-19 health order that was set to expire Tuesday. Now the order will stay in effect through Jan. 19. The new date is the same date Columbia Public Schools students are scheduled to resume in-person classes.
In addition to requiring masks where social distancing isn't possible the order limits the size of gatherings and requires restaurants that serve alcohol and bars to stop serving drinks at 10:30 p.m.
The health department announced the extension the same week that local hospitals received their first shipments of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine.
"The fact that we have a safe and effective vaccine -- there are shots being given to our frontline healthcare workers every day -- is certainly a bright light at the end of the tunnel. But this pandemic is far from over," Stephanie Browning, director of the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services, said in a news release.
Browning said in the release that keeping the precautions contained in the order will help life get back to normal sooner than it would otherwise.
The release said case levels, while lowering in recent weeks, remain above October levels. Meanwhile, deaths are increasing -- Boone County has reported five deaths related to COVID-19 this week. Most of the county's 43 deaths have been reported since the start of November.
Boone County has recorded 12,254 coronavirus cases, with more than 900 of them active as of Wednesday.
The county has been under health orders since the spring, with Columbia having a mask requirement since the summer. However, the health director ordered mask-wearing countywide last month after getting support from municipal leaders outside Columbia and the county commission.
Capital Region COVID-19 patient number shrinks
The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 at Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City is less than a quarter of the hospital's peak number.
The hospital, an affiliate of University of Missouri Health Care, issued a situational update Thursday showing 11 patients hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday. The hospital treated 45 such patients at its peak on Nov. 12.
“The trends we are seeing since the Thanksgiving holiday related to COVID-19 have been very positive,” Dr. Randy Haight said in the update. “Hopefully this trend is the result of responsible decisions over Thanksgiving such as wearing masks, and the avoidance of large indoor gatherings and communal events. It is our hope to the same level of responsibility over the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations as well.”
Boone County reports two more coronavirus deaths
Boone County has now reported its third coronavirus death in the same day.
The deaths of a person in the 75-79 age range and another over 80 marked the 42nd and 43rd deaths the Boone County health department has reported this week.
Earlier in the day the department reported the death of a person in the 60-64 age range.
The three deaths reported Thursday bring the total reported this week to eight. The county has reported 16 deaths in December, an average of nearly one every day.
The rate of deaths in Boone County and Mid-Missouri has increased along with the fall surge in coronavirus cases. Most of the patients who have succumbed to COVID-19 are 70 years old or older. However, more deaths of patients younger than 70 have been reported in recent weeks.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports 16 deaths in Boone County nursing homes as of the end of November.
Capital Region starts giving employees coronavirus shots
Capital Region Medical Center began vaccinating its employees against the coronavirus Thursday.
The University of Missouri Health Care-affiliated hospital in Jefferson City administered its first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine at 7 a.m., spokesperson Lindsay Huhman said. A second round of shots will start at 4 p.m.
Huhman said about 150 employees were vaccinated Thursday morning.
Boone Hospital Center also began vaccinating its employees Thursday and plans to have 300 shots administered Thursday and 900 by Monday.
MU Health began its vaccinations Wednesday after receiving its initial shipment of about 3,000 doses on Tuesday.
Missouri's vaccine distribution plan targets health-care workers and residents and employees of long-term care facilities with the first doses of vaccine. The state received about 51,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week and expects more from the company next week.
Missouri is also planning to receive Moderna's vaccine if it wins approval. An FDA advisory panel was meeting Thursday to decide whether to recommend approval of the vaccine.
Columbia/Boone County health department reports 41st coronavirus death
The Columbia/Boone County health department reported another resident has died from COVID-19 -- it brings the total to 41 since the pandemic started.
The health department sent out a tweet about the death at 9:16 a.m. Thursday morning. It said the resident was in the 60-64 age range.
Department officials say Thursday's announcement marks the 5th such coronavirus death this week. The health department reported two deaths on each Monday and Tuesday.
Countywide deaths have increased 13 since Dec. 1, according to health department data.
Missouri COVID-19 cases increase by more than 3,500, positivity rate continues to fall
The state health department reported more than 3,500 new COVID-19 cases Thursday morning.
According to the statewide coronavirus dashboard, total COVID-19 cases went up to 356,607 with Thursday's increase of 3,569. It marks the largest single-day case increase this week -- nearly 900 more than Wednesday's case increase.
The health department said 35 more people have died from the coronavirus since Wednesday's dashboard update. Virus-related deaths have been in the double-digits every day since Tuesday.
Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate went down 0.4% to 17.5% on Thursday. The rate has continued to fall over the last month. At the beginning of December, the rate was near 20%.
Although the number continues to fall, CDC data says any positivity rate over 10% indicates widespread coronavirus.
Health department data said Mercer County in the northwestern part of the state had the highest seven-day positivity rate in the state at 38.1%. Macon and Monroe counties had the highest seven-day rates in Mid-Missouri at 29.1% and 28.7% respectively.
The most recent hospital data available said 2,536 people were hospitalized because of COVID-19 and 584 were admitted into ICUs. Both numbers have dipped slightly this week but have remained high since mid-November.
Boone Hospital Center starts vaccinating its workers
Boone Hospital in Columbia is set to give its first vaccines to frontline workers at 7:45 a.m. Thursday.
Hear from two hospital workers after they received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the player below.
The chief medical officer for Boone Hospital, Dr. Robin Blount, said they hope to vaccinate nearly 1,000 people over the next seven days. The hospital has roughly 2,500 employees.
Blount said the vaccinations will start with patient-facing employees, starting with the older doctors they have on staff who may be in a higher risk group.
The chief medical officer added that the vaccine can come with side effects and is encouraging staff to schedule a day off following their vaccination, if possible.
Boone Hospital will be the third in Columbia to have vaccination efforts underway.
