MONDAY UPDATES: Missouri DHSS adds 39 coronavirus related deaths after analyzing death certificates

Missouri DHSS has added 39 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 Tuesday morning.

Of the 39 deaths:

• two in October
• one in April
• seven in May
• 29 in June

Officials at DHSS report the weekly activity typically causes a sharp increase in the deaths added to Missouri’s total the following day. DHSS is now regularly analyzing death certificates on Mondays.

Officials say the state does not track probable or pending deaths.

Multiple people test positive with coronavirus at the Truman Building

Multiple people test positive with coronavirus at the Truman Building according to the Missouri Office of Administration.

Officials at the building report 15 people Monday tested positive in one area of the Truman Building.

The individuals that tested positive were last in the building from June 23-June 28. The locations are scheduled to be cleaned.

Over one hundred employees in the one area and the close contacts of the infected employees were offered COVID-19 testing.

Public health authorities recommend that anyone that tests positive for COVID-19 notify their close contacts about the test result.

Employees are not required to disclose their vaccination status and will return to work consistent with the circumstances of their health and the current CDC guidance.

If you test positive for COVID-19, contact your local health department for additional information on how to identify and notify your "close contacts."

The department is reminding everyone that cases in Missouri-including the more contagious Delta variant, are currently on the rise.

Boone County active cases jump to 179, an increase of 44 from Friday

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 79 new COVID-19 cases from Saturday, Sunday and Monday combined.

There are currently 179 active cases in the county. That is an increase of 44 from Friday. This is the highest number of active cases since Feb. 19 when 199 cases were reported.

The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 18,899.

The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 18,603.

The health department's hospital status remains in yellow.

The health department is reporting three Boone County residents are in the hospital due to the coronavirus.

There are a total of 48 people hospitalized at a Boone County hospital due to the coronavirus.

The dashboard is showing 23 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and 10 patients on a ventilator.

The State of Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 90,584 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 80,881 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 50.2%. The second closest in the state is St. Louis County with 48.8%.

Boone County is first in the state with a reported 44.8% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is second in the state with 43.1% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 40.5%. Montgomery County is third with 36.6%.

Boone County hosting multiple COVID-19 vaccine community clinics Tuesday

Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services is hosting two coronavirus vaccine community clinics on Tuesday.

These clinics will be walk-in based for the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccine and no appointments are needed.

The events will be at:

Columbia City Hall - Conference Rooms 1A/1B
701 E. Broadway, Columbia
12 to 4 p.m.

Loaves & Fishes - Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church
702 Wilkes Blvd., Columbia
4 to 6 p.m.

Vaccines are free and do not require ID or health insurance.

Anyone aged 12 or older is eligible for Pfizer. Anyone aged 18 and older is eligible for Johnson & Johnson. Parental consent forms are required for anyone under the age of 18.

SSM to require all employees to get coronavirus vaccine

SSM Health, the owner of St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City and other area health care facilities, said Monday that it will require all its employees to get the coronavirus vaccine.

The Catholic not-for-profit organization cited the emergence of the highly contagious Delta variant and low vaccination rates in announcing its decision. The approach of the flu season also makes it important that people get vaccinated, SSM said in a news release.

SSM said it has vaccinated about 240,000 employees and community members. Now it will require its 40,000 employees to get the shot by the end of September. Employees can request an exemption for health or religious reasons, SSM says.

Statewide positivity rate hits 7.9%, three Mid-Missouri counties in top 10

Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate increased to 7.9% Monday morning, according to the state health dashboard.

Over the past seven days, the rate has increased by 1.2%, with the rate of new cases rising 14.1% in the same time.

Three Mid-Missouri counties are ranked in the top ten for highest positivity rates in the state:

• No. 3 Saline County has a seven-day positivity rate of 22.02%.
• No. 5 Morgan County has a seven-day positivity rate of 20.45%.
• No. 8 Monroe County has a seven-day positivity rate of 20%.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recorded an additional 318 new confirmed cases of the virus Monday morning, bringing the total up to 523,207 since the pandemic began.

An additional 105 probable cases were also reported. In total, 93,292 probable cases of the virus have been discovered through antigen testing in Missouri.

No new deaths were recorded Monday due to the virus. Since the pandemic began, 9,257 Missourians' deaths have been linked to COVID-19.