MONDAY UPDATES: DHSS adds 66 coronavirus related deaths after analyzing death certificates

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has added 66 COVID-19 related deaths after the state’s disease surveillance system analyzed several death certificates.

Officials say the deaths will be captured and reported publicly through the dashboard Tuesday morning.

Of the 81 deaths:

• One in April
• One in July
• One in August
• Five in September
• Six in October
• 52 in November

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.

Officials say the state does not track probable or pending deaths.

Boone County reports highest number of active cases since late September

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 128 new COVID-19 cases from Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

There are currently 556 active cases in the county and 27,025 cases since the pandemic began. The county reported 26,289 cases removed from isolation.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 59.6% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 10.2% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 110 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 14 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 110 patients, 33 are in intensive care and 15 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 111,085 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 97,737 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 61.6%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 65%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 54.2% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 57% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 59.1% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 52.7%. Callaway County is third with 48.6%.

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

The district reported a 38.9 14-day rate per 10,000 for Monday.

CPS reports 10 district facilities (seven elementary schools, one high school and two other district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. Eight staff members at an elementary school, one staff member at a high school and one staff member at a district-wide facility have tested positive for COVID-19. Two staff members at elementary schools have to quarantine due to the close contact.

The district reports 32 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. The district is reporting 20 of the elementary schools, six of the middle schools, all of the high schools and two district-wide facilities are affected.

There are 45 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 29 students in elementary, seven students in middle school and nine students in high school have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 315 students who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 207 elementary students are currently quarantining, 80 students in middle school, 19 students in high school and 10 students at district-wide facilities.

Cole County reports 73 new coronavirus cases

The Cole County Health Department reported 73 new coronavirus cases from over the weekend.

According to the dashboard update, there are 11,980 residential cases and 289 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 12,269 total cases in the county.

Cole County reports there are 168 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Cole County ranks 23rd in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 73% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 13.6% positivity test rate, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 52.7% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 48.3% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported no new coronavirus cases in a student or staff member from over the weekend.

The district is reporting six active cases in students and one active case in staff.

The district is reporting 131 close contacts for students and nine close contacts for staff.

State health department warns Missourians about vaccine-related scam

State officials are warning Missourians about a scam that seeks to capitalize on coronavirus vaccinations.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services warned the public Monday about the scam, in which victims get a text message directing them to a site to "validate" a "one-time Covid-19 Vaccine verification." The scam is an attempt to get personal information and the website the scammers use has the logos of the health department and Missouri Department of Revenue in an attempt to appear legitimate, according to a news release.

Website registration shows the site was registered last week in the European Union, the health department says. The state says it has reported the website to proper authorities.

Anyone who submitted information through the scam website should report the breach to their financial institutions, credit reporting services and the Social Security Administration, the release says.

Missouri COVID cases continue to rise; nearly 4,000 new cases over the weekend

The daily average of new coronavirus cases in Missouri continues to go up after three days of over 2,000 new coronavirus cases in the state, according to state health department reporting.

On Friday the daily average increased to 1,493. The daily average has now increased by over 400 to 1,907 cases. 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 logged 3,937 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 961 probable cases identified in antigen testing over the weekend, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 753,146 confirmed cases for the entire pandemic and more than 171,036 probable cases.

The state recorded nine more confirmed deaths for a total of 12,619 and no new probable death for a total of 2,843.

Missouri's new cases are up nearly 68% over the past week, the state reports, as new cases surge nationwide.

The rate of positive tests was at 12.9% for the last week, a slight increase from last week.

Cole, Pettis, Callaway, Osage, Moniteau, Miller, Saline and Boone counties are all in the upper third of counties in new cases per capita over the last week, according to state statistics.

Nearly 2% of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections, the state reports.

Experts continue to tout vaccination as the best tool to fight the wave of new cases, but new vaccinations have effectively stalled in Missouri, with more boosters being given daily than first or second shots. The state reported Monday that 51.8% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 24% of total hospital capacity and 15% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 35% and 29% in Central Missouri, respectively.