TUESDAY UPDATES: State of Missouri releases new information on sewershed surveillance of COVID-19 variants
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and other officials are providing an update on the wastewater arond the state to help fight coronavirus variants.
In a Feb. 26 press release, DHSS announced that after the first round of sewershed testing, analysis indicated that small amounts of B.1.1.7 (UK) variant virus was present in sewage samples from 15 of 23 locations throughout the state.
DHSS is now reporting that the second round of variant testing in wastewater there is sufficient levels of viral particles present in the wastewater.
With COVID-19 cases decreasing in Missouri, only 10 locations in Missouri had sufficient levels of COVID-19 virus particles to allow for such a high level of testing. Of those 10 locations, only the Coldwater Creek wastewater system in St. Louis County had a detectable level of B.1.1.7 variant virus. In the Coldwater Creek wastewater system, 25.8% of the COVID-19 viral strands were identified as having mutations typically associated with B.1.1.7. This measurement is not a direct estimate of the percent of COVID-19 positive human cases in the area that are caused by the B.1.1.7 variant. Rather, it is only an indication that the variant virus B.1.1.7 is likely present among population in this sewershed area."
“As part of our overall commitment to COVID-19 surveillance, we continue to monitor for variants both clinically and through sewershed sampling,” said Dr. Randall Williams, DHSS Director. “Today, we’re reporting our latest findings, and we have shared this knowledge with our public health partners.”
Cole County reports six new COVID-19 related deaths
Cole County is reporting six coronavirus-related deaths. This is the sixth death this month and 27th death this year.
This is the 117 COVID-19 related death since April 3, 2020.
Cole County Health Department reports the increase is related to the recent state update after a review of death certificates.
Cole County is also reporting 10 new COVID-19 cases in the county.
The county has a total of 7,942 cases since the pandemic started.
Boone County reports two new coronavirus related deaths; third death in March
Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting two new coronavirus related deaths
There have been a total of 82 coronavirus-related deaths. The individuals were both in the 80+ age group. This is the third death this month from the coronavirus and 24 this year.
The county is reporting 20 new COVID-19 cases and 87 active cases.
The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 17,602.
The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 17,433.
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 9.9% for the week of Feb. 26 through last Thursday.
The county continues to trend down as there have been 41 straight days of single or double-digit case increases.
The health department is reporting the total number of hospitalizations in Boone County is 23.
The number of Boone County residents hospitalized is reported to be three.
The dashboard is reporting seven COVID-19 patients in the ICU and three patients on ventilators.
The hospital status remains 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 38,728 residents have received their first dose in Boone County.
The county has the largest percentage of people that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 21.5%.
Howard County has the second largest with 19.7% of the population have received the first dose of the vaccine. Cole County is third largest with 19.2% and Saline County is fourth with 19.1%.
Appointments still available for Jefferson City vaccination clinic
Capital Region Medical Center said appointments are still available for an upcoming coronavirus vaccination clinic on Friday.
The clinic is being hosted at the hospital on Friday and will be held from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Hospital spokeswoman Lindsay Huhman anyone who is vaccine-eligible, up to Phase 1B Tier 2, can get a shot at the clinic.
It wasn't immediately clear how many vaccine doses would be available or how many open appointments were still available as of Tuesday morning.
The state health department and other organizations are scheduled to host a vaccine clinic at the Linc in Jefferson City on March 19. The state's coronavirus vaccination website said the walk-thru clinic will be held from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
State health department reports 134 new COVID-19 deaths
On Tuesday, the state health department's total number of COVID-19 deaths increased by 134.
Nearly all of the deaths were reported in the department's weekly check of death certificates. Officials confirmed 130 deaths in this way, some going back for months.
- October - 1
- November - 1
- December - 4
- January - 35
- February - 88
- March - 1
Four deaths were also added in the department's daily update of the coronavirus dashboard. Since the pandemic started, 8,295 Missourians have died from the coronavirus, the health department reports.
The health department reported 332 new COVID-19 cases through PCR testing on Tuesday. Officials have confirmed 481,245 positive cases through PCR tests since the pandemic started.
The health department also reported 268 new probable COVID-19 cases through antigen testing. Antigen testing is cheaper and can be less reliable than PCR testing. Officials reported 918,155 antigen tests have been conducted since the beginning of the pandemic.
Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate increased slightly. The rate was reported at 4.3% up by 0.1 from the day before. The state's positivity rate has been on the decline for months.
More than 1 million Missourians have initiated coronavirus vaccination. The dashboard said 1.5 million vaccine doses have been administered and about 550,000 completing vaccination.
