COLUMBIA, Mo. — A record-breaking wave of coronavirus cases, which were announced over the weekend in Boone County, has prompted the University of Missouri to make some changes.
The Columbia/Boone County Public Health Department reported 131 cases Saturday, an all-time high for a single day. The department reported another 85 cases Sunday.
Assistant Director for the Columbia/Boone County Public Health Department Scott Clardy said the county's positivity rate increased drastically from 10.6% on Aug. 20 to 44.6% on Aug. 27.
Clardy said the source of the spike is pretty clear.
"I really think the issue up to this point is, frankly, people gathering at bars and not observing social distancing," he said.
Clardy said the department did a deeper dive into the 18-to-22-year-old age group statistics after the weekend, which shows the positivity rate for the age group increasing drastically. It increased from 38.7% to 60.4% during the course of one week.
"What we're seeing is the impact of people not abiding by social distancing rules," Clardy said.
A new county and city order limits gatherings to 20 people and requires bars stop serving alcohol at 9 p.m. and close at 10 p.m. as a result of the staggering rise in cases, which includes a 123.6% jump in cases in August alone.
Through July 31, there were 1,171 reported COVID-19 cases in Boone County, but the latest data fromthe Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services shows 2,618 cases, an increase of nearly 1,500 new cases in the last month.
Mizzou has a mask mandate and other protocols in place, hoping to prevent or limit transmission on campus.
According to MU's COVID-19 dashboard, there were 415 active cases Monday among students, which is up from 35.6% from the 306 cases reported through Friday.
Sophomore Joni Oswald from Independence said she's not entirely surprised cases are increasing on campus and in the county.
"The numbers are shocking when you first hear them, in all honesty, but I kind of expected (that) whenever they announced we are going to go back to campus and we are going to have in-person classes," Oswald said.
After this weekend, Mizzou spokesperson Christian Basi said the University is working on increasing contact-tracing efforts.
It's also moving around staff to provide more support to students who test positive, whether that be helping them find a way to isolate properly or contacting their professors.
