MONDAY UPDATES: Missouri DHSS adds 336 coronavirus related deaths after analyzing death certificates
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has added 336 COVID-19 related deaths after the state’s disease surveillance system analyzed death certificates.
Officials say the deaths will be captured and reported publicly through the dashboard Tuesday morning.
Of the 336 deaths:
- Two in November
- 14 in December
- 320 in January
Officials at DHSS report the weekly activity typically causes a sharp increase in the deaths added to Missouri’s total the following day. DHSS is now regularly analyzing death certificates on Mondays.
Boone County reports over 200 new coronavirus cases; positivity rate continues to drop
The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 216 total new coronavirus cases were added to the information hub for Saturday. The county now delays reporting cases by two days.
The county is reporting over 41% of the new cases are for residents 29 and younger with the largest number of new cases being for those aged 20 to 24.
The county has reported 41,784 since the pandemic began.
The health department is reporting 133 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and the healthcare system capacity is yellow. Of the 133 patients, 35 are in intensive care and 17 are on ventilators.
Boone County ranks seventh in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week and is 30th when sorted by cases per 100,000. Cases are down 62.2% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 21.9% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 118,085 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 105,204 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 65.4%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 69.9%.
Boone County is third in the state with a reported 58.3% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 61.7% of residents having completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 62.3% of the population fully vaccinated.
Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 55.1%. Callaway County is third with 51.3%.
The Columbia Public Schools reports active coronavirus and quarantine cases to their website daily. They updated it with new information from Wednesday.
The district reported a 140.3 14-day rate for Saturday.
CPS reports 22 district facilities (10 elementary schools, five middle schools, three high schools and four other district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19.
The district is reporting 25 coronavirus cases in staff across the district. The breakdown in staff shows 11 staff members at an elementary school, six staff members at middle schools, three staff members at high schools and five staff members at district-wide facilities who have tested positive for COVID-19. Three staff members at elementary school have to quarantine due to being in close contact.
The district reports 19 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. The district is reporting 11 of the elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools and one district-wide facility are affected.
There are 26 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 11 students in elementary, five students in middle school, eight students in high school and two students in district-wide facilities have tested positive for the coronavirus.
There are 11 students who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports three elementary students are currently quarantining, seven students in middle school and one student in high school.
Cole County reports 117 new coronavirus cases
The Cole County Health Department reported 117 new coronavirus cases on Monday.
According to the dashboard update, there are 16,637 residential cases and 322 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 16,959 total cases in the county.
Cole County has reported 182 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.
Cole County ranks 38th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are down 59.9% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 25% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 55.1% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 51% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.
The Jefferson City School District reported no new coronavirus cases in students and staff on Sunday.
The district is reporting five active cases in students and two active cases in staff.
State of Missouri reports new coronavirus cases down over 50%
The state of Missouri reported 1,702 new and probable coronavirus cases for Monday.
The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has gone back up to a 2,677 seven-day average (18,736 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 1,696 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another six probable cases identified in antigen testing from Friday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 1,094,614 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 264,167 probable cases.
The state recorded two new death for 14,316 total and one probable death was removed for 3,287.
Missouri's new cases are down 53.8% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases surge nationwide.
The rate of positive tests is 22.4% 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.
Saline (11), Callaway (16), Pettis (18), Boone (30), Chariton (32), Miller (35) and Cole (38) counties are all in the top 40 Missouri counties in cases per capita over the last week, according to state statistics.
The state reports that 7.37% (a .01 decrease for Monday) of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections. The state is reporting no new cases of breakthrough cases of 250,897 breakthrough cases out of 3,406,021 fully vaccinated people. The state has reported 1,185 breakthrough deaths.
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 Thursday that 55.5% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending down, with the state reporting 17% of total inpatient capacity and 16% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 23% and 29% in Central Missouri, respectively. The state is reporting 2,871 patient hospitalizations. There are currently 604 patients in Missouri ICUs.
Audrain County Health Department hosting curbside COVID testing
The Audrain County Health Department will host two free COVID-19 Rapid Antigen test clinics this week. The clinics will be on Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the health department. The health department is located at 1130 South Elmwood Drive in Mexico.
“The testing is only for those county residents 11 years of age and older,” ACHD Administrator and CEO Craig Brace said. “The call for more testing is running high in the county at this time.”
Brace said residents aged 11 and above should only get tested if they fall under the following two categories.
“One is that you have symptoms of COVID-19,” he said. “Those include but are not limited to, fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle and body aches, a new loss of taste or smell, a sore throat, congestion or a runny nose, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea. The second is if you have come in close contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last five days.”
Brace says those interested in getting tested can sign up online at myachd.as.me or can call 573-581-1332.
