THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone county reports third day in a row of new coronavirus cases under 50

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 46 new COVID-19 cases.

There are currently 464 active cases in the county. The county now has a reported total number of 24,727 COVID-19 cases.

The county reported 24,343 cases removed from isolation.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are down 27.9% on the week. The county has a 6.9% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The health department's hospital status turned to yellow, with 85 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 24 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 21 are in intensive care and eight are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 102,496 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 92,536 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 58.1%.

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 52% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 55% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 49.7%. Callaway County is third with 44.9%.

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

The district reported a 42.1 14-day rate per 10,000 for Monday.

CPS reports 12 district facilities (seven elementary schools, one middle school, two high schools and two other district facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. There is seven six 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 seven staff currently quarantined because of COVID.

The district reports 32 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. There are 19 out of 21 elementary, all middle schools and three high schools and three districtwide facilities affected.

There are 43 students that have tested positive for COVID-19, a decrease of one case from Wednesday. The district is reporting 21 students in elementary, 10 students in middle school, 11 students in High School and one at a districtwide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus. There are 307 students, which are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus, an increase of 18 students from Wednesday. The district reports 154 elementary students are currently quarantining,95 students in middle school, 50 students in high school and nine at other district facilities.

Cases continue to go down in Cole County; eight new cases reported

The Cole County Health Department reported eight new coronavirus cases.

According to the dashboard update, there are 10,807 residential cases and 284 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 11,091 total cases in the county.

Cole County has reported 155 coronavirus deaths.

Cole County ranks 73rd in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are down 41% comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 7.1% 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 45.3% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported four new coronavirus cases in students

The district is reporting five cases in students and no active cases in staff.

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

Boone County new coronavirus case averages down to early summer levels

The average number of new coronavirus cases in Boone County per day has fallen to levels not seen since early summer, before the delta variant powered a new surge.

The Boone County coronavirus dashboard showed an average of 25.6 new cases per day Thursday morning. The average climbed into the 80s in July as the more contagious delta variant spread through Boone County and it hasn't been this low since late June.

The county released its Wednesday numbers Thursday morning. The county recorded 49 new cases Wednesday for a total of 24,297 since the pandemic started in March 2020. No new deaths were reported. The county has 475 active cases.

Boone County's hospitals were back on "yellow" status Thursday morning after spending days in "green" status. Yellow status means hospitals are limiting some transfers and procedures. Hospitals reported 83 coronavirus patients, with 20 in intensive care.

Infections in school-age children have been up statewide this summer. Columbia Public Schools reported 301 students in quarantine because of coronavirus exposure Wednesday and 40 active student cases. The cases and quarantines affect 19 of 21 elementary schools, seven of seven middle schools and three of four high schools.

The University of Missouri reports 22 active student cases.

More than 2,100 new COVID-19 cases in Missouri

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 2,100 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.

According to the state health department, 1,615 of those cases were found through the use of PCR testing. That's above Missouri's daily average of 1,410 cases for that testing method.

Antigen testing revealed another 498 new cases of COVID-19.

Missouri's seven-day positivity rate fell Thursday from 9.9% on Wednesday to 9.7%

The state health department added 24 coronavirus-related deaths. That pushed the statewide total to 11,314 virus-related deaths since the pandemic started.

Hospitals in Missouri reported 1,762 COVID-19 hospitalizations. There are 304 patients on ventilators.

More than 2.8 million Missourians have finished the coronavirus vaccination process. That's 47.1% of the state's population.