MONDAY UPDATES: State of Missouri continues free COVID-19 community testing across state
The State of Missouri is continuing free COVID-19 community testing events in Cole County and other counties around the state.
Missourians can register online for testing events at health.mo.gov/communitytest and continue to check back for future opportunities. Cole County will be hosting the Mid-Missouri event for the next two weeks.
Missouri residency is the only requirement; individuals do not have to live in the county in which they are tested, and they do not have to be experiencing symptoms.
Any Missouri residents who wish to be tested with an anterior nasal swab to determine if they have an active COVID-19 infection can do so at no cost to the individual.
Those experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 should seek testing at a community testing event or their nearest testing site. Those who have had significant contact with someone with confirmed COVID-19 should also consider being tested.
Missouri DHSS adds 103 COVID-19 related deaths to state dashboard
Missouri DHSS has added 103 COVID-19 related deaths after the state’s disease surveillance system analyzed several death certificates.
Officials say the deaths will be captured and reported publicly through the dashboard every Tuesday morning.
Six of these deaths occurred in November, 67 occurred in December, and 30 occurred earlier this month.
The weekly death update has been occurring since September and typically causes a sharp increase in the deaths added to Missouri’s total the following day.
Officials say the state does not track probable or pending deaths.
Boone County reports lowest active coronavirus cases since Nov. 3
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 46 new COVID-19 cases.
The dashboard is currently reporting 613 active cases.
This is the lowest number of active cases since Nov. 3 when 516 active cases were reported. The highest number of active cases so far was 1,212 on Nov. 23.
The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 16,225.
The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 15,545.
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard has reported the latest five-day average as 85.
The dashboard is reporting the positivity rate of 19.3% for Jan. 15 through last Thursday.
The health department is reporting the total number of hospitalizations in Boone County is 80.
The number of Boone County residents hospitalized is reported to be 18.
The dashboard is reporting 25 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and 13 patients on ventilators.
The hospital status is still currently in the 'yellow' zone.
Morgan County reports two COVID-19 community exposure events; Moniteau County reports 27th COVID-19 related death
Morgan County is reporting two COVID-19 community exposure events from last Tuesday through Friday.
From last Tuesday through Thursday, the Morgan County Health Center is reporting a potential exposure event at Westside Lanes in Laurie, Mo.
On Friday, the exposure event was at the basketball game/courtwarming at Morgan County R2 High School.
Officials with the health center say that anyone at these events should monitor for symptoms. However, there is no need to self-quarantine or isolate unless symptoms develop.
Moniteau County Health center is reporting the 27th COVID-19 related death since May 15.
This is the second death this month. Officials say the resident was in their 40’s.
MU Health opens mass coronavirus vaccination site
University of Missouri Health Care has opened a mass coronavirus vaccination site inside Memorial Stadium.
Now MU Health is waiting for an adequate supply of vaccine to start putting shots into arms.
MU Health said last week that it planned to set up a vaccination clinic at the stadium where the Missouri Tigers play football instead of having patients get vaccinated at doctors' appointments. The site is in the Walsworth Columns Club at Faurot Field.
This week MU Health is vaccinating students and instructors who work in MU Health facilities and others eligible in Tier 1 of Phase 1B of Missouri's coronavirus vaccine plan, such as first responders. The state has authorized organizations that administer vaccines to start giving shots to the Tier 2 group, which includes people 65 and older and those with some underlying health conditions.
However, health care providers such as MU Health, Boone Hospital Center and the Columbia/Boone County health department say they don't have the vaccine doses to start on Tier 2.
Missouri's new coronavirus case drop below 1,000; Boone County reports weekend totals
Missouri's new coronavirus cases dipped below 1,000 on Monday after topping the 2,000 mark on Sunday.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 879 new cases statewide for a total of 450,414 since the pandemic began. The state reported five more deaths for a total of 6,553.
The numbers reported Monday continue a downward trend for coronavirus cases and deaths in Missouri in recent days. The state's positivity rate -- the percentage of positive coronavirus tests in a seven-day period -- dropped to 11.1%, according to the health department's online COVID-19 dashboard.
The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals statewide continues to drop, as well. The state reported 2,067 hospitalizations on Friday, the most recent reliable number. That's down from a late-December peak of more than 2,800.
Hospital bed capacity remained largely unchanged, with 22% of inpatient beds available statewide and 22% of intensive care beds available.
Boone County reports about 150 new cases
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported triple-digit coronavirus cases on Saturday before dipping back below 100 on Sunday.
The department reported weekend case totals Monday morning -- 107 new coronavirus cases on Saturday and 52 on Sunday for a total of 159 through the weekend. The department reported no new deaths.
Boone County now has more than 16,000 confirmed cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic, with 770 of those active. The health department says 67 Boone County residents have died because of complications of COVID-19.
The county continues to report a falling positivity rate. The rate for the week that ended Thursday was 19.3%, down from 29.4% the week before. Average daily cases are also on a downward trend.
