FRIDAY UPDATES: Four COVID-19 related deaths reported between two Mid-Missouri counties

Callaway and Morgan County are each reporting at least one COVID-19 related death in their latest respective counties.

The Morgan County Health Center is reporting three COVID-19 related deaths. The county has eight COVID-19 related deaths this month and 34 since August 2nd when they reported their first COVID-19 related death.

The county currently 18 active coronavirus cases and has had a total of 1,630 overall.

The health center is reporting four residents are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19.

The county has had 1,578 resident recoveries.

The Callaway County Health Department is reporting one COVID-19 death in their latest update. This is the second death this week and the fifth death this month for the county. The county has record 35 coronavirus deaths since April 4.

The county has had a total of 3,614 total cases and currently is reported 318 active cases.

The county has reported 3,261 residents have recovered from the virus.

Two Mid-Missouri counties receive coronavirus vaccines

Chariton and Moniteau County are each reporting to have received the coronavirus vaccine for their respective counties.

In Chariton County, the health center has vaccinated Phase 1 A population with the Pfizer-BioTech COVID-19 vaccine.

The health center reports that they have a limited supply of vaccine, but are hopeful to receive more vaccine soon.

In Moniteau County, the health center receives some doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Capital Region Medical Center.

The county reports they are actively vaccinating health care workers, law enforcement, first responders, and starting on Phase 1B Tier 2 individuals.

The health center received their first shipment of vaccine and have started scheduling those who are on the “wait list”.

Boone County passes 16,000 COVID-19 positive cases; positivity rate drops to lowest percent since October

Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 74 new COVID-19 cases. That is a decrease of nearly half from Thursday's new case numbers of 146.

The dashboard is currently reporting 714 active cases, a 66 case decrease from Thursday.

The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 16,020.

The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 15,239, a 140 case increase from Tuesday.

Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard has reported the latest five-day average as 91.

The dashboard is reporting the positivity rate of 29.3% for Jan. 8 through Jan. 14. The latest positive rate is 16.7% for Jan. 15 through last Thursday.

The health department is reporting the total number of hospitalizations in Boone County is 77, a three case drop from Thursday.

The number of Boone County residents hospitalized is reported to be 17.

The dashboard is reporting 26 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and 14 patients on ventilators.

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

University of Missouri reports low case rate after testing students

Less than 2% of University of Missouri students subjected to arrival testing for the novel coronavirus were positive, an MU spokesman said Friday.

MU required undergraduate students living in university housing to be tested at the start of the spring semester, which began this week. Spokesman Christian Basi said MU tested 2,002 students, with 35 testing positive.

The students who tested positive are in isolation and under university supervision, Basi said. He said MU is not saying where those students are isolating because of privacy concerns.

The student population helped to drive a sudden rise in coronavirus cases in Boone County during the fall semester. Boone County is yet to see a similar jump in positive cases this month.

MU reported 71 active student cases on Friday. There are 22 cases among faculty, staff and UM System employees who work in Columbia.

Missouri's new coronavirus cases drop back below 2,000

Missouri reported about 1,800 new coronavirus cases Friday, dropping back below 2,000 after rising above that mark the day before.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 1,783 new coronavirus for a total of 445,621 since the pandemic began. The state reported 42 new deaths for a total of 6,527.

Friday's number is part of an ongoing trend of fewer new cases. marked only the second time in the past week the state has reported more than 2,000 new cases. The number is been below 2,000 for all but one day in the past week. That day was Thursday, when 2,049 new cases were reported.

The state's positivity rate -- the percentage of people tested for the coronavirus who get a positive result -- fell to 11.7%, nearly half a percentage point from the number reported Thursday.

State leaders this week touted Missouri's progress in lowering new virus case numbers. Gov. Mike Parson said at his Wednesday coronavirus briefing in the Capitol that the positivity rate -- which public officials use to gauge how much the virus is spreading -- is less than half what it was during the peak of the fall surge in November.

“And unlike other states, Missouri did not see dramatic increases in cases over the holidays or the weeks following,” Parson said.

Missouri's hospitals remained strained by the virus, state leaders said this week, but the number of patients in the state's hospitals is falling. The state reported about 2,300 COVID-19 patients in hospitals statewide Tuesday, the most recent reliable number. That's down about 500 from the peak of 2,862 on Dec. 22.

The seven-day average of hospitalizations has fallen by about 300 since late December.

Missouri hospitals have about 22% of their outpatient beds available and 20% of their intensive care beds.