MONDAY UPDATES: DHSS adds 91 coronavirus related deaths after analyzing death certificates

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has added 91 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 91 deaths:

• One in March
• One in June
• Three in August
• Two in September
• Seven in October
• 73 in November
• Four in December

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.

Over 100 COVID patients hospitalized in Boone County hospitals

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reported 130 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

There are currently 492 active cases in the county and 27,439 cases since the pandemic began. The county reported 26,765 cases removed from isolation.

Boone County ranks 12th in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are down 12% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has a 8.9% positivity test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The health department's hospital status is yellow with 107 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 23 of them being Boone County residents. Of the 107 patients, 32 are in intensive care and 20 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports that 112,305 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 98,924 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 62.2%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 65.8%.

Boone County is third in the state with a reported 54.8% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the first county in the state with 58% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination. The city of Joplin has 59.6% of the population fully vaccinated.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 53.1%. Callaway County is third with 49%.

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

The district reported a 50 14-day rate per 10,000 for Friday.

CPS reports eight district facilities (four elementary schools, one middle school and three other district-wide facilities) currently have staff out because of COVID-19. Four staff members at an elementary school and two staff members at district-wide facilities have tested positive for COVID-19. Three staff members at elementary schools and one at a middle school 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, all of the middle schools and high schools and two district-wide facilities are affected.

There are 36 students that have tested positive for COVID-19. The district is reporting 15 students in elementary, five students in middle school, 14 students in high school and two students at a district-wide facility have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 213 students who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus. The district reports 121 elementary students are currently quarantining, 54 students in middle school, 23 students in high school and 16 students at district-wide facilities.

Cole County reports 47 new coronavirus cases

The Cole County Health Department reported 47 new coronavirus cases from Saturday, Sunday and Monday

According to the dashboard update, there are 12,124 residential cases and 292 long-term care facility resident cases. That is 12,416 total cases in the county.

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

Cole County ranks 61st in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 in the past week. Cases are down 40.8% when comparing last week to the prior week. The county has reported a 10.1% positivity test rate, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 53.1% of the county have initiated their first dose of the vaccine and 48.8% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

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

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

The district is reporting 137 close contacts for students and 15 close contacts for staff.

Missouri's average number of new coronavirus cases drops

The state of Missouri’s daily average of new coronavirus cases has dropped over 130 average cases to 1,835 seven-day average (12,844 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 4,887 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 1,057 probable cases identified in antigen testing from Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri has now reported 767,514 confirmed cases for the pandemic and more than 175,524 probable cases.

The state recorded five more confirmed deaths for 12,726 and two new probable deaths for a total of 2,858.

Missouri's new cases are up down 10.8% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases surge nationwide.

The rate of positive tests was at 12.5% 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.

The state reports that over 2.11% (up .02% from Sunday) of vaccinated Missourians have developed COVID-19 infections.

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 52.5% of Missouri residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending upward, with the state reporting 24% of total hospital capacity and 19% of ICU capacity remaining. Those numbers are at 33% and 27% in Central Missouri, respectively.