TUESDAY UPDATES: Active cases continue to rise in Boone County; 120 coronavirus related death reported

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting a coronavirus-related death. That brings the total to 120 deaths. The death occurred on July 19.

The health department reported 85 new COVID-19 cases.

There are currently 849 active cases in the county, an increase of 49 from Monday. The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 21,205. The 849 active cases is the highest reported since the weekend update on Jan 11.

The county reported 20,236 cases removed from isolation, an increase of 35 from Monday.

Boone County ranks 10th in the state with the most coronavirus cases in total volume in the past week. Cases are down 22.8% on the week. The county has a 12.6% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The positivity rate is up for the previous week of July 23 through Thursday to 39.1.

The health department's hospital status remains in yellow, with 108 COVID-19 patients in Boone County hospitals and 29 of them being Boone County residents. Of those, 43 are in intensive care and 19 are on ventilators.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 96,810 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 85,160 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 53.6%. The second closest county in the state is St. Louis County with 52.5%.

Boone County is first in the state with a reported 47.2% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Louis County is the second county in the state with 45.7% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 45.3%. Montgomery County is third with 40.4%.

Cole County reports mid-Missouri leading 127 coronavirus-related death

The Cole County Health Department reported 41 new coronavirus cases.

According to the dashboard update, there have been 41 new cases in the county, bringing the total to 9,394 resident cases and a total of 280 cases for long-term care facility residents. That brings a total of 9,674 total cases in the county.

The county reported one new death in the county bringing the total to 127 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic started.

Cole County ranks 11th in the state for counties with the most coronavirus cases per capita in the past week. Cases are down 19.1% on the week. The county has an 18.9% positive test rate, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard reports about 39.4% of the county's population have been fully vaccinated.

Columbia College to require masks indoors starting Monday

Interim President of Columbia College Dr. David Russell has issued a mask mandate while in campus buildings to start on Monday.

An email to the Columbia College community said regardless of vaccination status, a mask mandate will go into effect on Aug. 9 for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The only exceptions are when individuals are alone or in a residence hall with roommates.

Columbia College will continue to have in-person classes with COVID-19 precautions, which include allowing six feet between students and instructors, providing three feet of distance between students, and providing air purifiers for each classroom.

Columbia College states that if officials do decide to transition to a virtual setting, they will not follow last year's model. The plan is for students to have access to advisors and instructors for additional help.

In addition, all students living on campus must do one of three things: upload their student vaccination cards to their health portal, provide proof of a negative test, or take a rapid test on campus.

Columbia College says that these are temporary measures that will continue to be monitored based on CDC and local guidelines.

Missouri hits highest number of hospitalizations since Jan. 22

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services recorded 1,863 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 as well as 777 new probable cases Tuesday morning.

The state health dashboard shows the addition brings Missouri to 574,125 total confirmed cases and 111,253 probable cases.

The state dashboard recorded 88 new deaths with the total number of deaths standing at 9,755. Of those deaths, 72 occurred previously but were discovered during a weekly review of death certificates.

The Missouri health dashboard reports that the seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate is 14.7 percent.

According to the latest verified data from Saturday, 2,038 Missourians were in state hospitals with COVID-19. It's the highest number of hospitalizations the state recorded since Jan. 22.