THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports active coronavirus cases rise to 270; total number of cases passes 19,000
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 45 new COVID-19 cases.
There are currently 270 active cases in the county. This is the second day in a row of an increase in active cases of 30. This is the highest number of active cases since Feb. 9 when 304 cases were reported.
The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 19,037.
The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 18,650, an increase of 15 from Tuesday.
The health department's hospital status remains in yellow.
The health department is reporting five Boone County residents are in the hospital due to the coronavirus.
There are a total of 53 people hospitalized at a Boone County hospital due to the coronavirus.
The dashboard is showing 17 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and eight patients on a ventilator.
The State of Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 91,038 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 81,397 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 50.4%. The second closest in the state is St. Louis County with 49%.
Boone County is first in the state with a reported 45.1% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is second in the state with 43.4% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 40.7%. Montgomery County is third with 36.7%.
Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate highest since Jan. 26
According to an update on the state health dashboard, Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate increased to 8.6% Thursday, a half percent increase from Wednesday.
The last time the positivity rate reached this level was on Jan. 26.
State health officials recorded an additional 910 confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total of confirmed cases throughout the pandemic to 525,624.
New cases of the virus have increased 24.9% in the past seven days as compared to the prior week.
The dashboard also showed an increase of 381 probable cases of the virus. In total, 94,401 probable cases of the coronavirus have been discovered in Missouri through antigen testing.
Missouri's death toll increased to 9,315 Tuesday morning after four deaths were added to the dashboard.
One in three patients at Lake Regional positive for COVID-19
The CEO of Lake Regional Health System says coronavirus numbers are moving in the wrong direction.
According to a letter sent Wednesday from CEO Dane W. Henry, Lake Regional currently is treating 24 patients with the virus. Seven of the patients are on ventilators.
"Please let that sink in …" Henry said. "Among our inpatient census, one in three patients is COVID-positive. About one-third of those patients require assistance to breathe."
Henry said seven people died due to COVID-19 between June 9 and June 25. He noted that all of this is preventable, thanks to the coronavirus vaccine.
"If you’re not yet vaccinated, please take action now to protect yourself and your loved ones," Henry said. "Make an appointment today at one of Lake Regional’s seven primary care locations, your local health department, Central Ozarks Medical Center or one of the area’s retail pharmacies."
According to the letter, Lake Regional Health System is seeing younger patients being hospitalized for the virus, with more people ages 20-50 seeking treatment.
