THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports third straight day of 50 or more new coronavirus cases

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 58 new COVID-19 cases, two more than Wednesday.

There are currently 358 active cases in the county, an increase of 25 from Wednesday.

The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 19,341.

The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 18,865.

The health department's hospital status remains in yellow.

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

There are a total of 66 people hospitalized at a Boone County hospital due to the coronavirus a decrease of four from Wednesday.

The dashboard is showing 22 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and seven patients on a ventilator.

The State of Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 91,882 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 82,113 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 50.9%. The second closest in the state is St. Louis County with 49.5%.

Boone County is first in the state with a reported 45.5% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is second in the state with 43.8% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 41.3%. Montgomery County is third with 37.2%.

Cole County reports 33 new coronavirus cases; 73 new cases in past two days

The Cole County Health Department is reporting 33 new coronavirus cases. This makes 73 new coronavirus cases in the past two days.

According to the dashboard update, there have been 8,213 resident cases and 270 long-term care facility resident cases.

The county has reported 124 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic started.

Lake Regional system puts new COVID-19 screening measures in place

Lake Regional Health System says it is implementing new screening measures and visitor restrictions amid a dramatic rise in coronavirus cases in its service area.

The hospital system made the announcement one day after the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services issued an advisory about the fast-spreading virus in the lake-area counties of Miller, Camden and Morgan. Vaccination rates in Miller (21.1%), Morgan (26.5%) and Camden (32.3%) counties are below the state rate of 39%.

Visitors to Lake Regional hospitals, clinics and the pharmacy will be asked a series of screening questions starting Friday and required to wear visitor badges, the health system said in a news release. Only one "support person" will be allowed per emergency department patient, according to the release.

The health system will continue to require masks.

“Please understand that these rules provide protection — for you and us,” Lake Regional Health System CEO Dane Henry said. “Unfortunately, our employees increasingly encounter individuals who do not understand the threat we are facing. We are communicating these changes now so that patients’ families will understand how important these restrictions are for keeping their loved ones safe.”    

Lake Regional said experts expect the number of cases in the area to possibly triple in the coming weeks. Morgan County ranks 11th in the state for new cases per capita over the past week. Miller County is 12th and Camden is 14th.

Missouri moves back into 'high transmission' level; positivity surpasses 12%

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the latest State Profile Report for the Show-Me state Wednesday, moving Missouri back into the high transmission level.

Missouri counties colored in red below are all ranked in the high transmission level. In mid-Missouri, that includes Boone, Cole, Camden, Phelps, Pulaski, Morgan, Miller, Saline, Benton, Cooper, Macon, Howard, Moniteau, Montgomery and Monroe counties.

The State Profile Report also said Missouri's rate of new COVID-19 cases increased by 25% from the week before. The rate of new deaths increased by 196%.

This comes as the state health dashboard recorded another day of large case increases. An additional 1,144 confirmed cases brought Missouri's total throughout the pandemic to 531,126.

The state also reported a spike in the seven-day positivity rate, which sat at 12.1% Thursday morning.