TUESDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports the second day in a row of over 500 new coronavirus cases

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 557 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday. The dashboard reports that 66 of the new cases were between the ages of 18 and 22 on Monday.

There are currently 2,454 active cases in the county and 32,074 cases since the pandemic began.

The county reported 29,428 cases removed from isolation. Over 89% 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 96.2% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 30.5% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 143 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 10 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 143 patients, 30 are in intensive care and 22 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 115,936 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 102,086 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 64.2%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 68.6%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 56.6% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 60.3% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 61.2% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 54.5%. Callaway County is third with 50.4%.

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

The district reported a 187.3 14-day rate per 10,000 for Tuesday. The highest the rate has been.

CPS reports 26 district facilities (14 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools and five other district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. The district is reporting 30 staff members at an elementary school, nine staff members at middle schools, 10 staff members at high schools and four staff members at district-wide facilities who have tested positive for COVID-19. Two staff members at elementary schools, three staff members at high schools and one staff member at a district-wide facility have to quarantine due to being a close contact.

The district reports 31 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. The district is reporting 18 of the elementary schools, six of the seven middle schools, all four of the high schools and three district-wide facilities are affected.

There are 231 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 127 students in elementary, 40 students in middle school, 59 students in high school and five students in a district-wide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 80 students who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 25 elementary students are currently quarantining, 17 students in middle school, five students in high school and 33 students at district-wide facilities.

Cole County reports 195 new coronavirus cases

The Cole County Health Department reported 195 new coronavirus cases Tuesday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 13,405 residential cases and 298 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 13,703 total cases in the county.

Cole County has reported 174 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Cole County ranks 21st in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 76.7% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 30.2% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 54.5% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 50.2% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported eight new coronavirus cases in students and five new cases in staff members Monday.

The district is reporting 39 active cases in students and 31 active cases in staff.

The district is reporting 164 close contacts for students and 24 close contacts for staff.

Missouri red zone report shows all counties with a high community transmission rate

The newest State Profile Report shows Missouri counties remain at the high transmission level of COVID-19. The report shows new cases remain at 986 cases per 100,000 people, a change of 102% from last week.

The report shows Missouri had 60,520 new cases of COVID-19 for the week of Jan. 7.

The report also indicates 244 residents died from the coronavirus, a 26% increase from the previous week.

All Missouri counties are considered high community transmission.

The report states that 73.9% of Missouri residents 18 years and older have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 63.2% are considered fully vaccinated. Over 37.4% of residents 18 years and older have received a booster shot.

According to the report, 98.7% of coronavirus cases were identified as the delta variant. According to the CDC, .5% of cases are the omicron variant.

According to the report, 39 hospitals are dealing with staffing shortages, which account for 32% of hospitals in the state. Seven hospitals are currently dealing with supply shortages or six percent of all hospitals.

Vaccine rates are down with 18,538 people 12 and older initiated getting a vaccination last week, which is 15.2% higher than the last report. 1,612 people 12-17 initiated vaccines last week, which is 12.2% higher than the last report.

State of Missouri reporting over 10,000 new coronavirus cases

The state of Missouri reported 13,574 new and probable coronavirus cases Tuesday.

The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has gone back up to an 8,266 seven-day average (57,859 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 10,238 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 3,336 probable cases identified in antigen testing from Wednesday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 908,625 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 214,102 probable cases.

The state recorded 170 new deaths for 13,488 total and 52 new probable deaths for a total of 3,076.

Missouri's new cases are up 40.4% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases surge nationwide.

The rate of positive tests is 33.4% 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 4.24% (a .6% increase from last reported on Monday) of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections. The state is reporting 141,286 breakthrough cases out of 3,334,970 fully vaccinated people. 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 54.3% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 21% of total hospital capacity and 20% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 38% and 34% in Central Missouri, respectively.

Missouri pulls back on coronavirus tests for schools

The state of Missouri is putting a hold on a program that provides free coronavirus tests to schools.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said in a newsletter Tuesday that a limited supply of rapid antigen tests for schools was exhausted Monday and the state would hold off on filling most schools' test orders. Testing infrastructure has become strained nationwide as the more transmissible omicron variant powers a record wave of new cases.

No orders will be fulfilled until supply improves, the state says. The state is also putting a hold on new applications from districts that want tests.

The department suggested schools reserve tests only for staff members who show symptoms.

"We know what a challenge this unfortunate situation is going to create for the hundreds of schools across the state that are taking part in our K-12 Antigen Testing Program and we want to express our sincere apologies," the department said in the newsletter. "It has been so important to DESE and the State of Missouri to make these rapid antigen tests available to K-12 schools, free of charge, since fall 2020. We know that these rapid tests allow schools to quickly determine if the mild symptoms their students and/or staff members have are COVID, or something else. This rapid test is often the difference in knowing if a teacher can teach that day or if a student can attend school to take part in valuable in-person learning."

Schools are reporting staffing issues tied to coronavirus cases, with one Mid-Missouri school -- Southern Boone -- finishing with classes online last week because of a staff shortage. The Columbia Public Schools coronavirus dashboard shows the district has about a 43% rate of filling in for teachers who are out this week. A CPS spokesman says the rate is better than it was to start the year, though.

The state also had to put a hold this week on household orders of PCR tests because of high demand.

Boone Health to limit visitors as coronavirus cases set new highs

Boone Health will limit patients to one visitor per day as coronavirus cases continue to set records.

The change takes effect Wednesday.

The hospital said in a news release that it will provide exceptions allowing two visitors per day in neonatal intensive care and for patients who are near death, who can have four visitors per day in two-visitor shifts. The hospital also advised patients not to go to the emergency room for COVID-19 testing.

All patients and visitors will also be required to wear a medical-grade mask such as a surgical mask or N95. Masks will be provided at hospital entrances, Boone Health says.

Health experts have encouraged Americans to wear medical-grade masks as the more transmissible omicron variant continues to spread around the country and across Missouri. Medical-grade masks are more effective than cloth masks at stopping the omicron variant from spreading.

State and local officials continue to log record levels of coronavirus cases as the variant powers an unprecedented pandemic wave. Missouri has set records for new cases and hospitalizations in the past week and Boone County has set numerous records for daily cases. Meanwhile, hospitals report the virus is not only filling up beds but sickening staff.

University of Missouri Health Care said Monday that it is limiting patients to one visitor, as well.