UPDATE 6:05 PM: Pettis County recorded 13 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the second-highest increase in the region behind just 14 new Boone County cases.
The new cases brought Pettis County’s total to 185. Active cases only increased from two to 51, as some recoveries offset the new cases.
Several counties recorded small increases in their COVID-19 case counts on Tuesday.
Cole County added two cases to reach 153. However, the number of active cases decreased by one, to 51. The county also reported two new cases on Monday, after setting its record with 15 on Sunday.
Callaway County reported a new case to reach 62 and a less active case to reach 13.
Montgomery County added two cases to reach 27. Active cases remained at six.
Cooper County registered a new case, with a total of 31. Ten of those cases are active.
UPDATED 4:50 PM: Moniteau County reported its second death Tuesday from COVID-19, while Boone County recorded only 14 new cases.
The Moniteau County Health Center reported the death on its Facebook page.
The deceased patient was a person in his 60s who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on June 29, the health center reported.
The county was a hot spot for the new coronavirus early in the pandemic, but has since slowed its growth in cases. The health center updated COVID-19 totals on Monday, reporting 78 cases with 13 active cases.
New Boone County Cases Decline
New daily Boone County cases have continued to decline since hitting a record on Saturday.
The county reported 14 new cases Tuesday to reach 777. Daily totals have fallen from Saturday’s record of 53, with only nine new cases recorded on Monday.
The number of active Boone County cases remained stable, decreased one to 317. The county initially reported the number as 318, but then revised the total. The number of people in quarantine because they have been in close contact with confirmed cases was reduced by nine to 520.
The lower numbers in the past few days have provided a brief break from the rapid growth in cases for several weeks. The county recorded 249 cases last week.
The jump in cases has prompted health officials to extend the current reopening phase of the county and the Columbia City Council to approve a mask requirement.
The Columbia / Boone County Department of Health and Human Services online information center showed 26 people hospitalized in Boone County with COVID-19 on Tuesday, a marked increase in a number that was recently in the single digits. Ten of those patients are residents of Boone County.
However, Boone County hospitals report that there is no shortage of personnel, bedding equipment.
With the new numbers of smaller cases, the county’s five-day moving average of new cases fell to 27.6 on Tuesday from Saturday’s record of 42.2. The average was 11.2 on July 1.
UPDATED 2:40 PM: Missouri COVID-19 cases made a record jump of more than 900 on Tuesday after a three-day postponement of large increases.
The state Department of Health and Senior Services reported 936 new cases Tuesday to reach 28,826. The state reported 10 new deaths to reach 1,093.
Last Thursday the previous record of 795 new cases was established.
Tuesday’s record rise followed three days with new case numbers below 500, a short break from escalating infections the state has seen as temperatures have warmed and people have come out more.
State and local health officials have said the increases are being driven in part by youth who gather in groups. Columbia and Boone County health officials issued a warning Monday about “COVID parties,” rumored gatherings where people deliberately expose themselves to COVID-19.
Watch Governor Mike Parson hold his COVID-19 briefing at 3 pm in the following player.
Information on such meetings taking place in Columbia has not been publicly released, but health officials have warned of exposures in bars and restaurants where they claim social distancing was not practiced.
Statewide cases have increased nearly 7 percent in the past week, the state health department reported at its online center COVID-19. About 505,000 Missouri residents have been tested for COVID-19 and 5.5 percent have been positive, according to state data.
Case numbers have increased across the state, but several Mid-Missouri counties are in the top 10 for case growth, according to the state health department: Macon, Osage, Randolph, and Cooper.
State hospitalizations are approaching peak levels. The state dashboard was updated Monday to show 932 hospitalizations. That information is delayed 72 hours.
The peak for hospitalizations, according to data from the dashboard, was 984 on May 5.
Health officials say hospitalizations are more revealing than the total number of cases because it illustrates the amount of strain that COVID-19 is putting on the health care system. So far, Missouri health care providers have reported no capacity shortages.
ORIGINAL: The Missouri Department of Corrections said cases of COVID-19 personnel and inmates in state jails have increased.
According to prison data, at least 234 inmates and 69 prison workers have tested positive for coronavirus. Inmate cases have increased by at least 79, and staff cases have increased by 12 since June 30.
The corrections department website said 94 inmates have recovered, another 140 had active cases as of Tuesday. He added that 28 prison workers had recovered, 48 have active cases.
The same prison data said 18 of the state’s 22 jails had workers or prisoners who tested positive for COVID-19. Five more prisons have added cases since June 30.
The Algoa Correctional Center in Jefferson City was one of the prisons that added a case of coronavirus.
Correction data indicates that six prisons in Mid-Missouri confirmed coronavirus cases. The prisons included were in Tipton, Vandalia, Boonville, two in Fulton and one in Jefferson City.
The website said the massive COVID-19 tests were completed in eight prisons, including Algoa and the Oriental Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center for Women in Vandalia.
Algoa is one of the three facilities that allowed inmates to receive visits. It is unclear whether visiting hours will be restricted since an inmate tested positive for COVID-19.
Correctional officials said in a statement on July 1 that the visits were recently canceled at the Chillicothe Correctional Center after a combination of three inmates and staff tested positive. Since the announcement, COVID-19 cases at the facility have increased to 49.
State officials were not immediately available to provide information on the increase in prison cases on Tuesday morning.
