WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Boone County now tied for the lead in mid-Missouri with 128 coronavirus-related deaths

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting one coronavirus-related death. That brings the total number of coronavirus deaths in Boone County to 128. The individual was in the 75-80 age group and died Aug. 6. This is the fifth reported coronavirus-related death in three days. Boone and Cole County now have the most coronavirus-related deaths in Mid-Missouri.

The county reported 80 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday.

There are currently 743 active cases in the county, an increase of 40 from Tuesday. The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 21,849.

The county reported 20,978 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 39 from Tuesday.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 9.1% on the week. The county has a 12.1% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The positivity rate is up for the previous week of July 30 through Thursday to 32.

The health department's hospital status remains in yellow, with 116 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 21 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 38 are in intensive care and 16 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 98,258 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 86,223 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses. Boone County has the largest percentage of county residents in Mid-Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 54.4%. The second closest county in the state is St. Louis County with 53.4%.

Boone County is first in the state with a reported 47.8% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the second county in the state with 46.8% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 46.4%. Montgomery County is third with 41.6%.

$30 million in funding announced to support Missouri’s health care system

Gov. Mike Parson announced $30 million to support Missouri’s health care professionals and system that will be funded through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“We’ve consistently heard from our health care partners that staffing is one of the biggest challenges we continue to face,” Governor Parson said. “Our health care workers have been on the frontlines since day one, and our goal is to provide continued support with this additional effort.”

The state will commit $15 million to provide health care staffing for all Missouri-licensed or CMS-certified critical access, acute care and long-term care hospitals. Funding will be provided on a firm, fixed staffing rate and will not exceed the cap designated to each tier. The governor has also authorized several Missouri departments to join in on the contract, securing the agencies and commission the same fixed staffing rate to fill healthcare staffing needs.

Missouri will also commit the other $15 million to establish five to eight strategically located, state-funded monoclonal antibodies sites that will operate for 30 days each. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that can help your body fight off COVID-19 and reduce the risk of severe disease and hospitalization – if administered to high-risk patients soon after diagnosis. Site selection will be made in conjunction with regional and local partners. The state estimates the sites will be able to treat up to 2,000 patients across the state.

“DHSS stands ready and willing to take on this effort,” said DHSS Acting Director Robert Knodell. “Our health care system remains strong and focused on providing the best patient care possible. We believe this funding will provide relief in the system where it’s needed most.”

Officials report 82 Greene County COVID-19 deaths since July 1

Missouri's death toll from the delta variant of COVID-19 is rising, especially in the hard-hit southwestern corner of the state.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department announced Wednesday that 82 people have died from COVID-19 since July 1. The health department cited 67 deaths in July and 15 in the first nine days of August. Seven Boone County residents have died during that same period.

The state health department's COVID-19 dashboard shows Missouri is nearing the sad milestone of 10,000 deaths. As of Wednesday, 9,982 Missourians have died from the virus since the pandemic began. State data also showed 3,282 newly confirmed cases on Wednesday, the biggest one-day count since January. The seven-day average was 2,221.

COVID-19 hospitalizations spike, new cases top 3,000

After dipping for a single day, Missouri's coronavirus hospitalizations spiked above 2,000 again.

The state health dashboard's latest data shows 2,200 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday. Of those patients, 644 were in the ICU.

The number of ICU patients in the Show-Me State is just 41 patients away from Missouri's previous peak on Dec. 22 of last year. Initial data from Monday's hospitalizations show Missouri surpassed that peak.

Along with the spike in hospitalizations, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recorded 3,282 new confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday morning. Throughout the pandemic, 593,015 cases of the virus have been confirmed in the state.

Additionally, the state health dashboard added 931 probable cases, bringing the total up to 116,518.

Twelve more deaths were recorded Wednesday morning. The state's death toll continued inching closer to 10,000, sitting just 18 away at 9,982.

The statewide seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate increased slightly Wednesday to 14.5%.