MONDAY UPDATES: Missouri adds 86 coronavirus related deaths after analyzing death certificates

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has added 86 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 86 deaths:

• one in June
• 52 in July
• 33 in August

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 active coronavirus cases drop over the weekend

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting 163 new COVID-19 cases; 11 on Saturday, zero on Sunday and 152 on Monday.

There are currently 620 active cases in the county, a decrease of 67 from Friday's update. The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 22,160.

The county reported 21,411 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 219 from Friday.

Boone County ranks eighth in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are down 10.2% on the week. The county has an 11.3% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The positivity rate is up for the previous week of August 6 through Thursday to 27.2.

The health department's hospital status remains in yellow, with 135 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 24 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 31 are in intensive care and 11 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 99,205 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 87,118 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses. Boone County has the largest percentage of county residents in Mid-Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 55%. The second closest county in the state is St. Louis County with 53.9%.

Boone County is first in the state with a reported 48.3% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the second county in the state with 47.4% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 47.1%. Montgomery County is third with 42.4%.

Cole County reports 87 new coronavirus cases; down over 31% over the previous week

The Cole County Health Department reports 87 new coronavirus cases.

According to the dashboard update, there are 85 new cases and a total of 9,981 resident cases and a total of 282 cases for long-term care facility residents. That brings a total of 10,263 total cases in the county.

The county is currently reporting 128 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic started, which is tied for the most in Mid-Missouri.

Cole County ranks 28th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are down 31.4% on the week. The county has a 14.8% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 40.9% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

Some St. Louis-area parents urging schools to requires masks

ARNOLD, Mo. (AP)

With the start of the new school year fast approaching, some parents in two suburban St. Louis districts are questioning why most students will not be required to wear face coverings, decisions that conflict with federal and local health guidelines.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that some parents in St. Charles and Jefferson counties are urging school leaders to reconsider decisions to allow students to attend classes without masks. Parents who oppose the mandates say masking is a medical decision that should be left up to families. But pro-mask parents say children younger than 12, who are not eligible for vaccines, are particularly vulnerable.

A mask mandate in Columbia Public Schools began Monday. The first day of school is Aug. 24. A decision on masks in the Jefferson City School District was expected to be announced Monday.

Eight walk-in vaccine clinics scheduled for Boone County this week

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services plans to hold several coronavirus vaccine clinics the week of Aug. 16.

None of the clinics require appointments, and all events will have both the Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson shots available for free.

Anyone 12-years-old or older is eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine, but individuals under the age of 18 are required to have parental consent.

This week's vaccination clinics are listed below.

• Tuesday: 1-4 p.m. at Midway Travel Plaza
• Wednesday: 1-7 p.m. at West Middle School Back-to-School Event
• Wednesday: 2-6 p.m. at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church (1707 Smiley Lane)
• Thursday: 1-6 p.m. at Daniel Boone Regional Library
• Friday: 3-7 p.m. at Centralia Anchor Fest (on the square in downtown Centralia)
• Saturday: 1-6 p.m. at Centralia Anchor Fest (on the square in downtown Centralia)
• Saturday: 12-2 p.m. at Indian Hills Block Party (5009 Aztec Boulevard in Columbia)
• Saturday: 6-9 p.m. at Safe Return to Live Music (Rose Music Hall)

You can find additional opportunities to receive a vaccine in Boone County here.

Missouri adds more than 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases

According to a state health dashboard update Monday morning, Missouri recorded 1,114 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The addition brings the total number of cases throughout the pandemic to 602,835.

Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services also recorded 260 new probable coronavirus cases. In total, 119,564 probable cases of the virus have been discovered through antigen testing.

The number of COVID patients in Missouri hospitals continued inching downward.

The state's latest verified data shows 2,215 patients were receiving treatment for the virus in the hospitals last Friday. Of those patients, 631 were receiving intensive care.

Missouri's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate remained steady, sitting at 14.6% Monday morning.

The state health dashboard did not record any new COVID-19 deaths. The total number of lives lost to the virus in the Show-Me State remained at 10,028.