THURSDAY UPDATES: Gov. Parson directs state resources to Springfield-Greene County due to rise in COVID-19 cases

Gov. Mike Parson is sending additional personnel and equipment to Springfield and Greene County to assist in the fight against COVID-19 and support the local health care system.

"Throughout this pandemic, we have worked with our local partners to provide support and resources as quickly as logistically possible, and that has not changed," Governor Parson said. "We are thankful for these medical professionals and the assistance they will provide in Southwest Missouri. We will continue to do all we can to support the Springfield area and surrounding communities as we experience this increase in COVID-19 spread."

On Friday, ambulance strike teams are expected to arrive in the Springfield area and be available to assist local hospitals.

The ambulance strike teams and monoclonal antibody infusion facility were part of a resource request made to the state of Missouri by Greene County on July 14.

On July 19, Greene County submitted to SEMA a request for a stand-alone Alternate Care Site. A hotel in Springfield was identified by Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management to be converted into a medical facility that could provide acute care or be utilized as a step-down unit for COVID-19 patients. SEMA has escalated the request to FEMA.

Boone County COVID-19 active cases rise for 13th day in a row

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 89 new COVID-19 cases.

There are currently 761 active cases in the county, an increase of 17 from Wednesday. Boone County's 761 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 20,292.

The county reported 19,502 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 72 from Wednesday.

Boone County ranks 30th in the state with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are up 28.8% on the week. The county has a 14.7% 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 40.

The health department's hospital status remains in yellow, with 85 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 18 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 33 are in intensive care and 14 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 94,386 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 83,769 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 52.3%. The second closest county in the state is St. Louis County with 50.8%.

Boone County is first in the state with a reported 46.4% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is second in the state with 44.7% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 43.3%. Montgomery County is third with 38.6%.

Cole County reports 58 new COVID-19 cases

Cole County Health Department reported 58 new coronavirus cases Thursday.

According to the dashboard update, there have been 8,929 resident cases and 271 long-term care facility resident cases.

That brings a total of 9,200 total cases in the county.

The county has reported 126 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic started.

While the cases were reported today, one case was backdated to July 18.

Cole County ranks ninth in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are up 9.6% on the week after a recent surge there. The county has a 20.9% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Missouri adds more than 2,000 cases for second day in a row

According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, there have been 2,418 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 increasing the total number of confirmed cases to 551,609. It was the second straight day with new confirmed cases over 2,000 as the state's summer coronavirus surge reaches levels not seen since January, before vaccines were widely available.

Missouri has recorded over 10,000 cases in the most recent seven-day counting period and new cases are up nearly 18% during that time frame. Among Mid-Missouri counties, Cole and Miller are each in the top 10 for most new cases per capita during that period.

The state dashboard reported 928 new probable cases Thursday morning, with a total number of 104,127 probable cases.

The dashboard recorded eight new deaths as of Thursday morning.

The state dashboard stated that are 1,532 current hospitalizations and that the seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate in the state increased to 14.4%. Hospitalizations have been rising steadily since hitting a low of fewer than 700 patients on average in late May. Health experts say the increasing new cases are hospitalizations are being driven by the more contagious delta variant.

The state's vaccination rate continues to lag at 40.5%. The rate of new vaccinations has risen since earlier this month but remains about a fifth of the highs in early April.

Missouri ranks third among states for most new cases per capita in the last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, behind Arkansas and Florida.