FRIDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports 12 new coronavirus cases
Boone County reported a dozen new coronavirus cases Friday, continuing a trend of overall lower case rates.
The new cases bring the county's total to 17,506 since the pandemic began last March. Boone County now has 85 active cases, a drop of 12 compared to Thursday.
The number of tests performed on Boone County residents has dropped along with new cases. Nine people were tested Thursday, compared to the 156 tested Monday. At the peak of the pandemic nearly 900 tests were taken in one day.
The five-day case rate has been dropping since November and was down to 14 on Friday. The rate peaked at 169.
The county's COVID-19 dashboard reported another death Friday for a total of 80. The health department has not released details on the person's age.
The number of COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals is also on the decline. Hospitals were treating 23 patients Friday and reporting no capacity issues. Four Boone County residents were in a hospital for COVID-19.
Case rates in the Columbia Public Schools boundaries are also on the decline. The district reported 13.2 cases per 10,000 people over the past 14 days on Friday. That rate surpassed 111 in November.
The drops in new cases have led to relaxation of some restrictions in the health orders that cover the county and Columbia. A new order that went into effect Thursday allows bars and restaurants to stay open as late as they choose and loosens capacity limits on gatherings and public events.
Meanwhile, the percentage of vaccinated people in Boone County keeps growing. About 19% of Boone County's population has now taken its first dose, according to state data.
National Guard to hold mass vaccination clinic in Boone County
A release from Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services said Boone County will play host to a mass coronavirus vaccination clinic next week.
In a partnership with the local and state health departments and the Missouri National Guard, the Columbia Sports Fieldhouse at 4251 Philips Farm Rd. will hold a mass vaccination event next Friday.
A news release said 2,300 vaccine doses will be available at the event and it will be held from 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Health officials said preregistration on the state health department's vaccine navigator is required. The health departments asked people interested in receiving the vaccine to register as soon as possible. The website did not immediately list the event.
Residents who are vaccine eligible, up to Phase 1B Tier 2, will be able to get the vaccine. Pfizer's two-dose vaccine will be given out at the event.
The National Guard has not held a mass vaccination event in Columbia since coronavirus vaccines have become available.
Another National Guard and state health department vaccination event is being held in Mid-Missouri on March 13th in Camden County at the School of the Osage. It will be open from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Missouri COVID-19 positivity rate at lowest level since mid-June
Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate hit its lowest level since June on Friday.
An update added to the state health department coronavirus dashboard said the CDC-calculated rate was down to 4.3%. It's the lowest rate the rate has been since June 14, 2020.
Over the last two months, the positivity rate has been on a steady decline as new COVID-19 cases dwindled and coronavirus testing has dropped off.
The daily COVID-19 case average was reported at 324 for the week ending on Tuesday. Over that period of time, the health department has reported 2,270 cases. The average daily increase on Jan. 2 was reported at 2,744, according to the dashboard.
The health department reported the total daily average of coronavirus tests was 14,149 on Friday. It's about 8,000 fewer tests than the average reported at the same time two months ago.
Health department officials reported 430 news COVID-19 cases, which brought the pandemic total up to 479,966. Eight more virus-related deaths were also reported, 8,158 have been confirmed over the last year.
Nearly 1 million Missourians, roughly 15.5% of the state population, have started the coronavirus vaccination process, the dashboard said. State officials reported almost 500,000 state residents have completed vaccination in the latest data available.
