THURSDAY UPDATES: Boone County reports second straight day of over 90 new coronavirus cases

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 99 new COVID-19 cases Thursday.

There are currently 610 active cases in the county and 27,260 cases since the pandemic began. The county reported 26,468 cases removed from isolation.

Boone County ranks 11th in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are up 48.2% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 10.1% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 96 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 20 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 96 patients, 29 are in intensive care and 16 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 111,673 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 98,298 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 61.9%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 65.4%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 54.5% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 57.5% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 59.3% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 52.9%. Callaway County is third with 48.8%.

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

The district reported a 47.1 14-day rate per 10,000 for Thursday.

CPS reports 14 district facilities (nine elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and three 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 two staff members at district-wide facilities have tested positive for COVID-19. Six staff members at elementary schools and one at a middle school have to quarantine due to being a close contact.

The district reports 33 district facilities to have students currently out due to the coronavirus. The district is reporting 20 of the elementary schools, all of the middle schools and high schools and two district-wide facilities are affected.

There are 63 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 28 students in elementary, 13 students in middle school, 20 students in high school and two students at a district-wide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 491 students who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 294 elementary students are currently quarantining, 141 students in middle school, 34 students in high school and 24 students at district-wide facilities.

Cole County reports 26 new coronavirus cases

The Cole County Health Department reported 26 new coronavirus cases Thursday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 12,063 residential cases and 292 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 12,355 total cases in the county.

Cole County reports there are 169 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

Cole County ranks 25th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are up 58% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 13.3% positivity test rate, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 52.9% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 48.6% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported two new coronavirus cases in students and no new cases in staff members from Wednesday.

The district is reporting 10 active cases in students and four active cases in staff.

The district is reporting 133 close contacts for students and 15 close contacts for staff.

Missouri reports new coronavirus cases up 44% from last week

The daily average of new coronavirus cases in Missouri nears 2,000 (13,991 confirmed cases from the past 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 2,475 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 790 probable cases identified in antigen testing from Wednesday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 760,035 confirmed cases for the entire pandemic and more than 173,682 probable cases.

The state recorded 14 more confirmed deaths for a total of 12,708 and one new probable death for a total of 2,854.

Missouri's new cases are up over 44% over the past week, the state reports, as new cases surge nationwide.

The rate of positive tests was at 12.8% 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.

Over 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 Thursday that 52.2% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 28% of total hospital capacity and 19% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 40% and 34% in Central Missouri, respectively.