TUESDAY UPDATES: Cole County reports three COVID-19 related deaths; two new cases
Cole County Health Department reported three new COVID-19 related deaths in long-term care facilities. Those deaths bring the total number of deaths in LTC facilities to 52.
The total number of deaths overall in the county is now 111.
The county also reported two new COVID-19 cases in the county. The county has a total of 7,886 coronavirus cases.
Boone County reports 18th straight day of 50 new COVID-19 cases or less
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 28 new COVID-19 cases.
The health department is currently reporting 151 active cases.
The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 17,350.
The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 17,124.
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard has reported the latest five-day average as 22.
The dashboard is reporting the positivity rate of 17.4 for the week of Feb. 12 through last Thursday.
The county continues to trend down as there has now been 27 straight days of only double-digit case increases. This is the longest number of days of only double-digit increases since Oct. 13.
The health department is reporting the total number of hospitalizations in Boone County is 34.
The number of Boone County residents hospitalized is reported to be 8.
The dashboard is reporting 12 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and 6 patients on ventilators.
The hospital status is currently in 'Green' status. 'Green' status is when hospitals are operating within licensed bed capacity; accepting patient transfers from referring hospitals within standard care operating procedures.
The State of Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 24,766 have received their first dose in Boone County.
The county has the fourth-largest percentage of people that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 13.7%.
Saline County has the largest with 16.9% of the population have received the first dose of the vaccine. Montgomery County is second with 15.4% and Cole County is third with 14.4%.
MU Health stops Saturday coronavirus testing
MU Health Care says it will stop collecting samples for coronavirus testing on Saturdays because of reduced demand.
The organization operates a testing site at its Mizzou North site on Business Loop 70. The site has been open for testing on the weekends for several months but MU Health said in a social media post that declining numbers of people seeking a test led to closing the site on Saturdays.
The site will remain open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Cases have dropped dramatically in Boone County and statewide, leading to less demand for coronavirus-related services such as testing. The county's five-day average of new daily cases fell to 25 on Monday, down from nearly 170 at its peak in November.
SSM closes Mexico drive-thru testing site
SSM St. Mary's announced its drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Audrain County has closed as of Tuesday morning.
The hospital system said the site was closed because of a decline in testing and lower community transmission of COVID-19.
Anyone who feels sick or is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms can still get tested at the SSM Health Walk-In Clinic at 3626 S. Clark St. in Mexico. Patients having COVID-19 symptoms are asked to contact their primary care physician.
Missouri reports 400 more COVID-19 cases
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported more than 400 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
The state's coronavirus dashboard said total confirmed COVID-19 cases were up to 475,791 -- an increase of 443 cases from the day before.
Virus-related deaths increased as well -- 170 more were added to the dashboard bringing the total reported to 7,885.
Health department officials reported late Monday night that 175 more deaths had been confirmed through a weekly check of death certificates. It's unclear if the remaining deaths will be included in Wednesday's dashboard update.
Missouri seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate was reported at 6.4%. It was unchanged from the day before. The rate has mostly fallen since the start of 2021.
The dashboard included that a little more than 1 million total coronavirus doses have been administered in the state. Health officials say 11.5% of Missouri residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
