THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County health care system capacity moves to yellow status

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 71 new coronavirus cases were added to the information hub on Wednesday. The county reported 54 cases on Tuesday and the rest were reported in June and July.

The county delays reporting cases by two days.

The dashboard is showing 34 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals. There are five patients in the ICU and four patients are on a ventilator.

The Boone County health care system capacity has moved to yellow. Yellow status means hospitals are operating within the standard capacity and meeting any of the following criteria:

• Delaying non-emergency patient transfers from referring hospitals due to capacity for greater than two (2) days, or
• Delaying non-emergency patient transfers from referring hospitals due to staffing for greater than two (2) consecutive days, or
• Delaying non-urgent procedures and operations to provide additional inpatient capacity

Additionally, 47,911 COVID-19 cases were recorded previously.

Boone County is reported to have a high COVID-19 community level, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

If you took a COVID-19 test at home that was positive, Boone County is also encouraging those that took the test to report the results at the link.

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

The district reported a 48.4 14-day rate on Monday. These are only cases identified in areas served by Columbia Public Schools.

CPS reports that 16 district facilities (eight elementary schools, four middle schools, one high school and three other district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19.

The district is reporting 15 coronavirus cases in staff across the district. The breakdown in staff shows six staff members at an elementary school, four staff members at middle schools, one staff member at the high school level and four staff members at district-wide facilities who have tested positive for COVID-19. Three staff members at elementary schools have to quarantine due to being in close contact.

The district reported two district facilities that have reported coronavirus cases in students. In the district, there are two out of 21 elementary schools have reported coronavirus cases in students.

There are no students with an active coronavirus case in the district. The district is reporting one case at the elementary school level is currently in quarantine.

Cole County reports 17 new COVID cases

The Cole County Health Department reported 17 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. The county reported one new case on Friday, three on Tuesday and 13 on Wednesday.

According to the dashboard update, there have been 18,064 total cases in the county since March 2020.

The health department is reporting that 60.9% or 47,710 of county residents have received at least one dose of the COVID Vaccine.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports Cole County as having a low COVID-19 community level.

The Jefferson City School District reported no new coronavirus case in a student or staff on Thursday.

The district is reporting no active cases in a student and one active case in a staff member.