FRIDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports highest number of active cases since late January
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 119 new COVID-19 cases Friday, the largest single-day increase since Jan. 27 when 130 cases were reported.
There are currently 614 active cases in the county, an increase of 91 over Thursday's total. Boone County's 614 active cases is the highest it has been since Jan. 28 when 622 cases were reported. The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 19,898.
The county reported 19,166 cases removed from isolation, a 28 case increase from Thursday.
Boone County has reported a five-day positive case average of 53.8, a nine case drop from Thursday.
The positivity rate of the county for the week of July 9 through July 15 is 34, an increase of one from the previous week but down from June 25 to July 1 when it was a reported 35.8.
The health department's hospital status remains in yellow, with 85 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 24 of them being a Boone County residents. Of those, 31 are in intensive care and 11 are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 93,057 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 82,948 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 51.6%. The second closest in the state is St. Louis County with 50.2%.
Boone County is first in the state with a reported 46% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is second in the state with 44.3% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 42.2%. Montgomery County is third with 38.1%.
MU Health Care offering walk-in coronavirus testing options
MU Health Care is reporting an increase of residents requesting coronavirus testing as cases continue to increase across the state.
MU Health Care will begin offering walk-in COVID-19 tests Monday at designated lab locations.
These lab testing options are for those who need travel testing or for individuals who have mild symptoms or a known COVID-19 exposure and want to be tested.
The walk-in tests for mild and asymptomatic patients will be available Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the labs at the South Providence Medical Building and the Battle Avenue Medical Building.
St. Mary's Hospital tightens visitor rules as coronavirus cases rise
St. Mary's Hospital in Jefferson City is the latest in Mid-Missouri to tighten its rules related to visitors as a summer surge of coronavirus cases continues.
Starting Monday, visitors will be limited to two support people for Family Birth Center patients; a guardian for pediatric patients; a support person for patients having surgery or a procedure; and limited visitors for patients near death with approval from the hospital.
Visitors have to enter through the outpatient entrance from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on weekends, according to a news release from SSM Health, which operates the hospital.
Masks are required at all times and visitors should bring their own. Screenings will take place at entrances and visitors are expected to stay in patients' rooms or in designated waiting areas. They must also follow hand hygiene and social distancing rules, the release says.
“We have seen an increase in hospitalizations from COVID-19 and a substantial increase in community transmission,” Becky Miller, vice president of operations for St. Mary’s Hospital, said in a statement. “We are taking this step to continue to allow support to our patients while keeping our patients and staff as safe as possible. We appreciate the community’s cooperation and ask for the community’s assistance in slowing the spread of COVID-19.”
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 218 cases in the last seven days in Cole County -- more than double the number recorded in the previous week. The county ranks 15th-highest in the state for new coronavirus infections per capita and has an 18.3% positive test rate.
The Cole County Health Department reported 55 new cases on Friday for a total of 8,454 cases outside nursing homes since the pandemic began. Health department director Kristi Campbell warned on a video conference Thursday that the county would see higher numbers in the coming days because of delays in reporting from one lab.
COVID-19 positivity rate continues to increase in Missouri
According to the state health dashboard, there have been 1,734 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Missouri.
In total, there have been 541,923 confirmed cases since the pandemic started. Health officials also recorded 603 new probable cases with a total number of 100,675 antigen test results being positive.
The state dashboard recorded seven new deaths Friday morning, adding to the total number of deaths, which is at 9,470.
The state dashboard has reported that the seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate also increased to 13.5%.
The dashboard recorded that 1,357 people were in Missouri hospitals as of July 13.
