TUESDAY UPDATES: Boone County Sheriff’s office report 28 detainees test positive for COVID-19 since Jan. 3
Boone County Sheriff’s Department is reporting more inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus.
According to Sgt. Brian Leer, the department started mass testing for the detainee population by testing anyone in custody that "we thought could have been exposed in any way, regardless of whether they met the "close contact" guidelines."
Due to the testing, the department is reporting 28 detainees who tested positive since Jan. 3, with two being released back into the general population. There are still four tests pending as of Tuesday morning.
The Boone County Jail currently has 169 total detainees with only 26 detainees testing positive for COVID-19 still in custody.
The department currently has six employees out with coronavirus.
Officials say most of the people are asymptomatic.
Two mid-Missouri report COVID-19 related deaths
Moniteau and Pettis County are each reporting COVID-19 related deaths.
The Moniteau County Health Center is reporting one COVID-19 related death. That is the second death this year and the 21st since May 15, 2020.
The county reports an increase of total cases from 1,758 to 1,791. However, the number of active cases has dropped from 74 to 64 in the past day.
The county has reported 42 new recoveries, bringing the total to 1,706.
Pettis County Health Center is reporting two deaths today. This brings the total number of reported deaths this month to 17. The county has a total of 68 deaths since July 21, 2020. Reported deaths are when the county reports the death certificate not the actual day of the death.
The county is reporting 54 total new cases, bringing the total to 4,527.
The health center is reporting an increase of 27 new active cases to 405.
The number of recoveries has increased by 25 making 4,054 residents having contracted the coronavirus.
Boone County reports second COVID-19 death this week, fifth since Jan. 1
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting one new coronavirus related death.
Officials say the individual was in the 80+ age group. That makes the 63rd since March 18. This is the second COVID-19 related death this week and fifth death this year.
The health department is reporting 87 new COVID-19 cases for Tuesday, an increase of 14 from Monday.
The dashboard is currently reporting 712 active cases, 16 more than Monday.
The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 15,102.
The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 14,327, an increase of 80 from Monday.
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard has reported the latest five-day average as 98.
The dashboard is reporting the positivity rate of 34.7% for Jan. 1 through last Thursday.
The health department is reporting the total hospitalizations in Boone County remains at 115 cases for the past three days.
The number of Boone County residents hospitalized is reported to be 41.
The dashboard is reporting 36 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and 10 patients on ventilators.
The hospital status is still currently in the 'yellow' zone.
Lake Regional Health System creates coronavirus vaccine waiting lists for area residents
Lake Regional Health System is creating a waiting list for area residents interested in receiving a coroanvirus vaccine once they are available.
“We understand many people in our service area are eager to receive this vaccine and the protection it brings,” said Michael Dow, Pharm.D., director of Ancillary Services at Lake Regional. “Although we do not currently have vaccines to distribute, we want to be ready to quickly schedule recipients when we do receive more vaccines.”
During sign-up, residents will self-select their appropriate category: phase 1A, 1B, 2 or 3.
The State of Missouri determines when vaccine administrators will be able move between phases.
A Lake Regional representative will use the waiting lists to schedule appointments once they become available during the appropriate phase.
Residents can sign up to be placed on the waiting list at lakeregional.com/vaccine. Residents can also call 573-348-7444 and leave a request for a Lake Regional representative to contact them if the resident does not have access to the internet.
The cost of the vaccine is free; however, Lake Regional says there will be a small administration fee to help offset expenses on their end to provide this community service.
Sick Boone Countians spread coronavirus, exposed others at holiday gatherings
Boone County residents with coronavirus sickened or exposed hundreds of others to the illness, according to information released Tuesday by the county health department.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services published the information on its social media accounts Tuesday. The department looked at positive cases and coronavirus exposures associated with gatherings on Halloween and Thanksgiving.
The department reported 26 county residents went to Halloween parties while infected, leading to another 59 positive tests and 308 virus exposures.
Over Thanksgiving, 31 infected people went to gatherings, leading to another 44 positive cases and 223 exposures, the department says.
The department based the information on its contact tracing investigations and warned that more people might have been sickened with or exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19. Health authorities noted that the data suggested Thanksgiving gatherings were smaller, leading to fewer cases.
Boone County has reported 15,015 cases since March, with 696 of those currently active, according to the health department's online dashboard. COVID-19 has killed 61 people in Boone County, with most of those coming since the start of November.
Case rates remain high in the county but have declined from their late-November peak. The Columbia Board of Education voted to send students back into classrooms next week despite concerns about those high case rates.
Classes are also set to begin next week at the University of Missouri.
Missouri surpasses 6,000 COVID-19 deaths
On Tuesday, Missouri surpassed 6,000 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic started back in March.
The state health department's coronavirus dashboard said 6,155 state residents have died because of COVID-19. It's an increase of 204 from Monday.
Health officials reported 176 of the more than 200 were reported dead in the department's weekly check of death certificates.
The health department reported 2,131 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. It brings the pandemic total up to 427,117.
State health officials said the seven-day positivity rate fell 0.5% since Monday's update to 17.6%.
Statewide hospitalizations and ICU admissions because of the coronavirus changed slightly over the last 24 hours. Hospitalizations were down three to 2,605 and ICU admissions went up one to 588.
