TUESDAY UPDATES: Gov. Parson to discuss COVID-19, statewide vaccine incentive program and new DHSS Director during Wednesday press conference
Governor Parson will host a press conference Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the State Capitol to discuss COVID-19 cases across the state.
The governor will discuss COVID-19, announce a statewide vaccine incentive program, and announce the new Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Director.
Information about the incentive plan wasn’t immediately available.
Governor Parson will be joined by the new DHSS Director and Acting DHSS Director Robert Knodell at the press conference.
Boone County reports the largest number of new coronavirus cases since December
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 172 new COVID-19 cases. The 172 cases are the largest increase since Dec. 17 when 173 cases were reported.
There are currently 707 active cases in the county, an increase of 75 from Monday. Boone County's 707 active cases is the highest since Jan. 25 when 770 cases were reported. The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 20,198.
The county reported 19,277 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 96 from Monday.
Boone County ranks fifth in the state with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are up 8.2% on the week. The county has a 13.3% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The positivity rate of the county for the week of July 9 through July 15 is 38.
The health department's hospital status remains in yellow, with 91 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 16 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 35 are in intensive care and 15 are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 93,963 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 83,487 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 52.1%. The second closest in the state is St. Louis County with 50.6%.
Boone County is first in the state with a reported 46.3% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is second in the state with 44.6% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 43%. Montgomery County is third with 38.4%.
Cole County reports 83 new coronavirus cases
Cole County Health Department reported 83 new coronavrirus cases Tuesday.
According to the dashboard update, there have been 8,765 resident cases and 270 long-term care facility resident cases. Health department director Kristi Campbell said 60 of the cases reported Tuesday were from tests taken Saturday or earlier.
That brings a total of 9,035 total cases in the county.
The county has reported 126 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic started.
Cole County ranks No. 11 in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. However, cases are down 2.5% on the week after a recent surge there. The county has a 20.6% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The county reported 228 cases on Monday, which health department officials attributed to a backlog in a lab reporting test results. Officials say 56 of the cases were from June and 36 occurred from July 1 to July 6.
Boone Health putting visitor limits in place because of high coronavirus spread
Boone Health said Tuesday that it will limit patients to one visitor each day in most settings because of increasing coronavirus infections.
County-owned Boone Health said it will place the visitor limits on patients at Boone Hospital, the Boone emergency room and in its clinics. Some patients will be allowed two patients per day: nursery and neonatal intensive care patients; pediatric inpatients; obstetrics; and patients at the end of their lives. End-of-life patients can have four different visitors in shifts of two.
Boone County ranked 32nd in the state in the last week for most new coronavirus cases per capita, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Cases have been on the rise in the county, with the daily average of new cases hitting levels not seen since the winter, before vaccines were widely available.
The Columbia/Boone County Health Department reported more than 600 active cases and 90 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals as of Monday.
State issues coronavirus advisory for Phelps, Pulaski, Laclede counties
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is warning the public about increased coronavirus infections in three area counties.
The department issued the advisory for Laclede, Phelps and Pulaski counties on Monday, noting that the fast-spreading delta variant is on the rise in those counties. Each county had an elevated case count between July 4 and Sunday and the health department said more cases are likely given the area's proximity to hot spots in southwest Missouri.
Vaccination rates in Laclede, Phelps and Pulaski counties remain low at 24.3%, 31.3% and 32.5%, respectively, according to the advisory. Phelps County has recorded the second-most cases per capita over the last week among Missouri counties, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Laclede county ranks fourth and Pulaski is 41st.
The advisory urges unvaccinated residents to get the coronavirus vaccine to slow down the virus's spread.
New COVID-19 cases top 1,000 again after one-day drop
The state health dashboard recorded an additional 1,411 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, only a day after new cases dropped below a thousand for the first time in a week.
Since the pandemic began, there have been a total of 546,962 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Missouri.
Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services also reported an additional 581 probable cases, bringing the total number of probable cases discovered through antigen testing up to 102,433.
The state also linked another 44 deaths in Missouri to the virus, bringing the pandemic death toll up to 9,518. However, 31 of the newly reported deaths happened previously and were discovered during a weekly review of data.
Hospitalizations also remain high. The most recent finalized data shows 1,363 patients were being treated for COVID-19 in Missouri hospitals on Saturday.
The seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate remained at 13.7% Tuesday.
