THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports seven patients hospitalized due to COVID-19; one in ICU
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 16 new COVID-19 cases.
There are currently 108 active cases in the county, three fewer active cases since Wednesday.
The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 18,104.
The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 17,911, a 20 case increase from Wednesday.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services dashboard has reported the latest five-day average as 14.
The dashboard is reporting the positivity rate April 2 through last Thursday is 17.6%.
The county continues to trend down as there have been 77 straight days of single or double-digit case increases.
The health department is reporting the total number of hospitalizations in Boone County is seven.
The health department is reporting five Boone County residents are in the hospital due to the coronavirus.
The dashboard is reporting one COVID-19 patient in the ICU and no patients on a ventilator.
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 70,832 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 45,747 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses.
Boone County has the largest percentage of people in Mid-Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 39.3%. Boone County has a reported 25.3% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 30.9%. Saline County is third with 30.4%.
Southern Boone School District goes virtual because of vaccine side effects
The Southern Boone School District in Ashland went to all-online instruction Thursday because of the number of staff getting a second dose of coronavirus vaccine.
Superintendent Chris Felmlee in a message to families this week said a "significant number" of employees got their second doses on Wednesday.
"I have considerable concerns that the second vaccination will lead to potential side effects that may prevent staff from being able to fulfill their job duties on Thursday," Felmlee wrote.
Felmlee said he switched schooling to online-only on Thursday to be proactive.
Health officials say the side effects of second doses of coronavirus vaccine can be more intense than those after the first dose. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require a second dose.
Missouri's COVID-19 positivity rate increases to highest level since February
Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate was its highest level reported in over a month on Thursday.
For the first time since late February, the statewide positivity rate was reported at 5%. According to the state health department, the rate has been steadily increasing since late March.
The state's positivity rate has decreased substantially since January. Missouri has gone three months without reporting a rate higher than 10%, which indicates widespread COVID-19.
Health officials have also reported higher daily cases increases recently. On Wednesday, the department reported more than 500 confirmed COVID-19 cases. And a day later more than 600 cases were reported.
The positivity rate is calculated by dividing the number of positive COVID-19 tests in a week by the total number of tests in that time.
Monroe County and Holt County were tied with the highest positivity rate in the state, 14%, over the last seven days, the dashboard said. Boone and Cole counties' positivity rates were both reported at 5% over the same period.
On Thursday, Missouri's pandemic total of COVID-19 cases was reported at 495,310 -- an increase of 613 from Wednesday's dashboard update.
The health department reported Missouri's total number of virus-related deaths was 8,630.
Department officials said nearly one-third of Missourians have initiated coronavirus vaccination -- more than 2 million state residents. Data included more than 3.2 million vaccine doses have been administered and 1.3 million Missourians have completed vaccination.
