THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports third straight day of record new and active coronavirus cases
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 427 new COVID-19 cases Thursday. The dashboard reports that 50 of the new cases were between the ages of 18 and 22.
There are currently 1,874 active cases in the county and 30,427 cases since the pandemic began. Active cases have hit their highest number since the pandemic began. According to the dashboard, 1,407 of the active cases have been reported since Monday.
The county reported 28,394 cases removed from isolation. Over 87% of active cases are in the 65201, 65202 and 65203 zip codes.
Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 142.3% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 25.1% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).
The health department's hospital status is yellow with 132 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 12 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 132 patients, 36 are in intensive care and 17 are on ventilators.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 115,350 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 101,509 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses.
Boone County has the third-largest percentage of county residents in Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 63.9%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 68.1%.
Boone County is third in the state with a reported 56.2% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 59.9% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 61% of the population fully vaccinated.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 54.2%. Callaway County is third with 50.1%.
Cole County reports 50% of residents are fully vaccinated
The Cole County Health Department reported 108 new coronavirus cases Thursday.
According to the dashboard update, there are 12,987 residential cases and 295 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 13,282 total cases in the county.
Cole County has reported 174 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.
Cole County ranks 32nd in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 74.2% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 21.1% positivity test
rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 54.2% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 50% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
State of Missouri reports over 10,000 new coronavirus cases
The state of Missouri reported 12,948 new and probable coronavirus cases Thursday.
The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has gone back up to a 6,243 seven-day average (43,699 confirmed cases from the previous week of reporting) as the state reports new coronavirus cases across the state according to state health department reporting. The daily average looks at the last seven days and doesn't account for the past three days, which will push that number even higher.
The state reported 10,073 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 2,875 probable cases identified in antigen testing from Wednesday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 863,885 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 203,548 probable cases.
The state recorded 16 more confirmed deaths for 13,299 and two new probable deaths for a total of 3,019.
Missouri's new cases are up 86% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases surge nationwide.
The rate of positive tests is 30% for the last week. A higher positivity suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who haven’t been tested yet.
Cole, Pettis, Callaway, Osage, Moniteau, Miller, Saline and Boone counties are all in the top 40 Missouri counties in new cases per capita over the last week, according to state statistics.
The state reports that over 3.46% (a .27% increase from last reported on Tuesday) of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections.
Experts continue to tout vaccination as the best tool to fight the wave of new cases.
Still, new vaccinations have effectively stalled in Missouri, with more boosters being given daily than first or second shots. The state reported Tuesday that 54.1% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 29% of total hospital capacity and 20% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 40% and 35% in Central Missouri, respectively.
Columbia College to begin classes online
Columbia College will start its spring semester with some classes online amid the record-breaking surge in coronavirus cases tied to the delta and omicron variants.
The college said in a news release that some courses will be online only when the semester begins Monday. The arrangement will last through Jan. 28 and applies to the traditional day program on the Columbia campus and the college's 39 campuses elsewhere.
The college said classes will be held virtually except for labs, clinical work, student teaching and internships. Student-athletes and residential students with in-seat classes are required to return to residence halls, the release said.
“Making this transition allows our students to begin the semester as safely as possible while working to reduce the risk of exposure and transmission of COVID-19,” David Russell, president of Columbia College, said in the release. “We continue to strongly encourage all faculty, staff and students to become fully vaccinated as this has proven to be the best tool in fighting the virus.”
Boone County has set records for new daily coronavirus cases and active cases for two days straight. Missouri also set a new record for cases Wednesday and hospitalizations are nearing the records set during last winter's COVID-19 surge. The more-transmissible omicron variant is being detected in more areas across the state.
Stephens College said this week that it will also start classes virtually. The University of Missouri and Lincoln University plan to start classes in person this month, as well.
