THURSDAY UPDATES: New coronavirus case average trending down in Boone County
Boone County continued a nearly weeklong downward trend in new daily cases Thursday.
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 57 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. The county has logged 27,661 cases since the pandemic began and 182 deaths.
The daily new case average has fallen from 66 on Friday to 43.8 this Thursday. The decline reversed a sharp upward trend the county saw in the week after Thanksgiving.
The number of active cases increased by 16 to 568 but the number of COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals stayed steady at 97.
Columbia Public Schools continued to report an elevated number of active cases and students in quarantine for exposure. The district reported 56 active student cases Thursday and 302 students in quarantine. The absences are affecting most of the district's schools.
Cole County reports 27 new cases
The Cole County Health Department reported 27 new cases of coronavirus Thursday.
The county has now recorded 12,540 cases throughout the pandemic. The county recorded no new deaths Thursday.
Cases have been trending slightly upward in Cole County, with nine days of 20 or more new cases in December so far compared to seven for all of November.
State data on case trends and vaccinations were not available late Thursday because of problems with the state's COVID-19 dashboard.
Missouri logs 3,000+ confirmed coronavirus cases
New coronavirus cases in Missouri soared well past the daily average Thursday.
The state reported 3,080 new confirmed cases for a total of 774,815. Missouri's health department reported another 1,232 probable cases identified through antigen testing and has logged 177,746 since the pandemic started.
The daily average of confirmed new cases is was 1,946 on Thursday but that number does not include the past three days. The average for probable cases is just 649. The rate of positive tests is 12.6%.
Eight new deaths were reported. Since the start of the pandemic, the state has recorded 12,810 confirmed deaths and 2,897 probable deaths.
New cases have been on an upward trajectory this fall as another wave sweeps the nation. Hospitalizations have trended upward at the same time. The climb began in early November, with about 1,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalized statewide each day. That number has approximately doubled.
About 19% of inpatient beds remain open statewide, and about 17% of intensive care beds. Those numbers are 33% and 27%, respectively, in the Central Missouri region.
Many health experts also fear the emerging omicron variant could add to current hospitalization levels this winter.
The same experts say getting a coronavirus vaccine is the best way to protect against the virus. Missouri's vaccination rate is stagnant at about 53% of the population fully vaccinated. Most new shots being administered are boosters.
A panel of CDC advisers recommended Thursday that Americans use the two-dose shots from Pfizer and Moderna instead of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot because of an increased risk of fatal blood clots.
