TUESDAY UPDATES: Missouri remains in the red zone; state profile report shows new cases up 9%

The newest State Profile Report shows Missouri remains at the high transmission level of COVID-19. The report shows new cases are up by nine percent compared to last week with 259 cases per 100,000 people.

The report shows Missouri had 15,872 new cases of COVID-19 for the week of Sept. 17.

The report also indicates 186 residents died from the coronavirus, an 11% drop from the previous week.

All counties are in the red zone or high transmission level except two, Platte, and Dade. Those two counties are in the orange (substantial transmission level) zone.

Over 56% of Missouri residents 18 years and old have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and more than 46% are considered fully vaccinated.

According to the report, over 97% of coronavirus cases are considered the Delta variant.

According to the report, 32 hospitals are dealing with staffing shortages which accounts for 27% of hospitals in the state. Eight hospitals are currently dealing with supply shortages or seven percent of all hospitals that's the same as the last report.

Vaccine rates are falling slightly, 29,230 people 18 and older initiated vaccination last week which is 4.5% higher than the last report. 3,796 people 12-17 initiated vaccines last week, which is 4.6% lower than the last report.

Active cases drop below 500 in Boone County for first time since August 31

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 48 new COVID-19 cases.

There are currently 494 active cases in the county, 133 fewer than Monday. The county now has a reported total number of 24,248 COVID-19 cases.

The county reported 23,602 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 181 cases.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are down 15.2% on the week. The county has a 7.7% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The health department's hospital status remains green, with 88 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 27 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 23 are in intensive care and eight are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 102,549 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 92,514 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses. Boone County has the second-largest percentage of county residents in Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 56.8%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 58%.

Boone County is second in the state with a reported 51.3% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the second county in the state with 51.9% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 54.8% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 49.7%. Saline and Howard County are third with 43.4%.

The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily.

The district reported a 50.6 14-day rate per 10,000 for Monday.

CPS reports 12 district facilities (six elementary schools, one middle school, two high schools and three other district facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There is seven staff at elementary and one staff at the high school level and one at a district facility that has tested positive for the coronavirus. The district has five staff currently quarantined because of COVID.

The district reports 32 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 18 out of 21 elementary, all middle schools and high schools and three districtwide facilities affected.

There are 44 students that have tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of four from Monday. The district is reporting 20 students in elementary, 10 students in middle school, 14 students in High School and one at a districtwide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 289 students, which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus, an increase of four students from Monday. The district reports 163 elementary students are currently quarantining, 76 students in middle school, 42 students in high school and eight at other district facilities.

State of Missouri extends contract 30 days for monoclonal antibody treatment sites

Gov. Mike Parson has extended the state’s six contracted monoclonal antibody treatment sites for an additional 30 days.

“Monoclonal antibody treatments have been successful for many COVID-19 patients and have allowed us to lessen the strain on Missouri’s health care systems,” Parson said in a news release. “However, this treatment is not a replacement for the vaccine. Encouraging more Missourians to choose vaccination is still the most effective path for us to move past COVID-19.”

The initial monoclonal antibody treatment contract with SLSCO of Galveston, Texas, began in late August in five counties and the city of St. Louis.

Officials say 1,732 patients have been treated with monoclonal antibody infusions through these sites.  

Cole County nearing 50% of residents to initiate the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine

The Cole County Health Department reported 10 new coronavirus cases.

According to the dashboard update, there are 10,787 residential cases and 284 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,071 total cases in the county.

Cole County has reported 155 coronavirus deaths.

Cole County ranks 62nd in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are down 28.8% comparing last week to the prior week. The county has an 8.4% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 49.7% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 45.2% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported five active coronavirus cases in students and no active cases in staff.

The district is reporting eight close contacts for students and one close contact for staff.

More Than 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Missouri

The Missouri Health Department reported Tuesday around 2,000 new cases of COVID-19.

According to the state health department, PCR testing identified 1,462 new cases of the virus. That's slightly above Missouri's daily average of 1,457 cases.

Antigen testing found another 571 new coronavirus cases.

The statewide seven-day positivity rate remained unchanged from Monday at 10%.

Missouri added 213 new virus-related deaths. According to DHSS, a weekly check of death certificates found a backlog of 199 new coronavirus-related deaths.

More than 120 of the deaths happened in August. There have been 11,276 virus-related deaths in Missouri since the pandemic started.

Data from the state health department showed 1,798 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 across the state. There are 294 patients on ventilators.

More than 2.8 million Missourians have finished the coronavirus vaccination process.

That's 46.9% of Missouri's population.