TUESDAY UPDATES: Boone County Reports Over 30% Drop in COVID Cases From Last Week; the positivity rate is 3.5%

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services reports four new cases of coronavirus were added to the information center on Tuesday. The county is now delaying case notification by two days.

The dashboard shows 27 COVID-19 patients at Boone County hospitals. Of the 27 patients, two are in intensive care and one is on a ventilator.

The county has reported 42,734 since the start of the pandemic. The county has reported 13,855 cases since the start of 2022.

Boone County ranks seventh in the state with the most coronavirus cases by total volume over the past week and is 27th when sorted by cases per 100,000. Cases are down 30 % when comparing last week to the previous week. The county has a 3.5% test positivity rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The Missouri Coronavirus Vaccine Dashboard reports that 118,673 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 106,125 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses.

Boone County has the third highest percentage of Missouri County residents who have received at least one dose of the vaccine at 65.8%. The largest county in the state is St. Louis County with 70.7%.

Boone County is third in the state with 58.8% of residents completing their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the top county in the state with 62.8% of residents completing vaccination doses. The city of Joplin has 63.3% of the population fully vaccinated.

Source: Columbia/Boone Co. Public Health and Human Services

Cole County has the second highest first vaccination rate in central Missouri at 55.5%. Callaway County is third at 51.7%.

Columbia Public Schools reports active and quarantined coronavirus cases daily on its website.

The district reported a 14-day rate of 6.9 last Sunday.

CPS reports that 15 district facilities (seven elementary schools, four middle schools, one high school and three other facilities district-wide) currently have staff absent due to COVID-19.

The district is reporting 14 coronavirus cases among district personnel. The staff breakdown shows six staff at an elementary school, four staff at middle schools, two staff at high schools, and two staff at district-wide facilities who have tested positive for COVID. -19. Three primary school staff are to be quarantined due to close contact.

The district reports that 10 district facilities currently have students absent due to the coronavirus. The district reports that five of the elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools are affected.

The district reports that one elementary, one middle and one high school student have tested positive for the coronavirus.

There are 11 students who must be quarantined due to the coronavirus. The district reports that three elementary students are currently in quarantine, seven middle school students and one high school student.

Cole County reports 3.8% positivity rate

The Cole County Health Department reported five new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday.

According to the dashboard update, there are 16,996 residential cases and 330 cases of residents of long-term care facilities. This represents 17,326 total cases in the county since March 2020.

Cole County has reported 190 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.

March 2022 Total cases per day 3-15-22
Cole County Health Department cases per day in March

Cole County ranks 42nd in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per 100,000 over the past week. Cases are down 14.3% comparing last week to the previous week. The county reported a 3.8% test positivity rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri Coronavirus Vaccine Dashboard reports that approximately 55.5% of the county has started their first dose of vaccine and 51.6% of the county’s population has been fully vaccinated.

The Jefferson City School District reported no new cases of coronavirus in any student or staff member on Monday.

The district reports two active cases in a student.

Missouri state reports average new daily coronavirus cases below 200

The state of Missouri reported 587 new probable cases of coronavirus as of Tuesday.

The state health department is reporting a seven-day average of 197 coronavirus cases (1,377 confirmed cases from the previous reporting week). The daily average is for the last seven days and does not take into account the last three days.

The dashboard reported 322 new coronavirus cases through PCR testing and another 265 probable cases identified through antigen testing as of Thursday, according to the Department of Health and Senior Services coronavirus dashboard. Missouri. Missouri has now reported 1,128,391 confirmed pandemic cases and more than 276,519 probable cases.

The state added 295 deaths for 15,937 total and 68 new probable deaths were added for 3,789.

Missouri’s new cases are down 38.5% over the past week, the state reports, as recent cases decline nationwide.

The positive test rate is 3.1% for the past week. Higher positivity suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who have not yet been tested.

Howard (19), Audrain (25), Miller (26), Boone (27), Callaway (28), and Saline (31) counties are all in Missouri’s top 40 counties in cases per capita during the week latest, according to state statistics.

Source: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

The state reports that 8.06% (0.01 change for Tuesday) of vaccinated Missourians developed COVID-19 infections. The state reports 278,898 breakthrough cases out of 3,460,145 fully vaccinated people. The state has reported 1,695 breakthrough deaths.

Experts continue to tout vaccination as the best tool to fight the wave of new cases.

The state reported Wednesday that 56.4% of Missouri residents are fully immunized.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also trending down, with the state reporting 21% of total hospitalization capacity and 23% of critical care capacity remaining. Those numbers are 35% and 42% in central Missouri, respectively. The state reports 765 patient hospitalizations. There are currently 130 patients in Missouri ICUs. Hospital status for all of Missouri is three days behind schedule, latest as of Saturday.

More than 400 new coronavirus deaths added to Missouri total

Missouri added 413 coronavirus deaths to its total on Tuesday, including nearly 250 that occurred in February.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services released its weekly tally of additional coronavirus deaths discovered during the state’s regular death certificate review. The 413 new deaths included 247 in February and 134 in January – one of the deadliest months of the entire pandemic. Another 134 deaths were recorded in January.

Missouri has reported nearly 20,000 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began two years ago. More than 1.1 million confirmed infections have been reported.

Deaths in January reached levels not seen since last winter as the omicron swept the country. They have since dropped, along with new cases and hospitalizations. January includes several days with more than 50 deaths reported.

Studies have shown that vaccination remained effective against hospitalization and death while the highly contagious omicron variant spread. A large percentage of Missourians — about 44% — aren’t fully immunized.