FRIDAY UPDATES: MBS furloughs some employees, cites COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 case numbers might differ among state and local health authorities because of issues with reporting and address verification.
UPDATE 8:10 P.M.: MBS Textbook Exchange has furloughed some of its employees amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
A company spokeswoman released a statement Friday night explaining the decision.
"As a result of the continuing impacts of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, we have made the difficult decision to institute a furlough program for a select number of employees at our MBS facilities," the statement said. "While our warehouse continues to operate as an essential business during this time, other areas of our operations have been impacted by ongoing campus closures and, as a result, we require a smaller workforce.
The spokeswoman also said the company is pausing the hiring of seasonal staff.
She said the company hopes over the next few months the company can return to normal operations and staffing.
UPDATE 7:30 P.M.: The University of Missouri is planning to host a series of virtual town halls about its response to COVID-19.
The meetings will be held on Zoom and people can submit questions online ahead of time.
The first town hall is for faculty and staff and will be held on Tuesday at 1 p.m.
Another town hall for the community is scheduled for Wednesday at 11 a.m. The final town hall is slated for 3 p.m. on April 22 and is meant for students and families.
UPDATE 4:40 P.M.: The Jefferson City School District and Columbia Public Schools will be dropping off meals at different locations starting next week.
Each district has been providing meals for students at times when they would normally be in school since buildings closed last month to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Gov. Mike Parson this week ordered all public and charter schools to remain closed through the end of the academic year.
JC Schools said it would also be delivering dinner, in addition to lunch and breakfast, thanks to a donation from the Boys and Girls Club of Jefferson City.
CPS released its revised meal stops earlier this week and JC Schools released its revised stops on Friday. Click on the files below to see PDFs of the stops for each school.
UPDATE 3:52 P.M.: As of Friday, at least 10 people in Camden County suspected of having COVID-19 were hospitalized, according to a news release. The county administrator said five of the hospital patients require ventilators.
Camden County Administrator Bee Dampler said Friday that four of the people hospitalized have tested positive for novel coronavirus and the others have pending test results.
Dampler said of the 26 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the county, 10 have recovered. The administrator added 33 people are under quarantine.
The county leader included where cases have confirmed in the county.
- 8 in the Sunrise Beach area
- 8 in the Camdenton area
- 5 in the Osage Beach area
- 2 in the Edwards area
- 1 in the Kaiser area
- 1 in the Gravois Mills area
- 1 in the Montreal area
Dampler said as of Friday 195 people have been tested at Lake Regional Hospital for COVID-19. One person in the county has died from coronavirus.
UPDATE 3:05 P.M.: Boone County reported 75 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Friday afternoon.
According to Columbia's website, 63 of the cases are recovered and 11 are active. The county is still reporting one death.
State health officials, however, reported 77 cases in Boone County. The state reported 3,799 cases across Missouri on Friday.
UPDATE 2:30 P.M.: Gov. Mike Parson will hold his daily COVID-19 briefing at 3 p.m.
Watch the news conference in the video player below.
UPDATE 2:05 P.M.: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Missouri went up 260 in the last 24 hours.
State health officials reported 3,799 cases Friday afternoon on a website that tracks state COVID-19 cases. The state reported 96 deaths, which rose by 19 for the second day in a row.
St. Louis County continues to be the area hardest-hit by COVID-19, with 1,498 cases. That county has been the site of 32 deaths.
A week ago 1,834 people have tested positive for the virus.
More than 40,000 Missourians have been tested for COVID-19 so far.
The state reported 77 cases in Boone County, 35 in Cole County and 21 in Callaway County. Some of those numbers differed from totals reported by local authorities.
A statewide stay-at-home order went into effect Monday that instructs residents to stay at home except for essential services.
UPDATED 1:25 P.M.: David Egan, athletic director at Rock Bridge High School, said Friday that CPS high schools will light up Friday night in honor of students, in particular the senior class.
The announcement said stadium lights at the schools' football, soccer and track facilities would come on at 8:20 p.m. and stay on for 20 minutes.
Students are allowed to gather in cars and park in school parking lots.
Egan said many school districts across the state are holding similar events.
Gov. Mike Parson ordered Thursday that all state public schools and charter schools remain closed through the end of the spring semester.
CPS restarted its alternative learning plan earlier this week after it was put on pause.
UPDATED 11:15 A.M.: The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Friday it is suspending all written and skills-based driver road tests through April 27.
Salvage testing and bus inspections are also suspended until April 27 as the state continues to limit services to slow down the spread of COVID-19.
The patrol first suspended testing last month.
The state reported Thursday that 3,539 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed with 77 deaths.
Boone Hospital testing closed on Easter
Boone Hospital Center said Friday that its COVID-19 drive-thru testing station will be closed on Sunday in observance of Easter.
The site will reopen at 7 a.m. Monday.
Doctors' orders are required to get tested.
ORIGINAL: The Saline County Health Department announced Thursday night that 19 people have tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a Facebook post from the health department, at least three more people tested positive on Thursday.
Over the past week, the health department has confirmed at least 14 new cases of novel coronavirus. As of Friday, no people in the county have died from coronavirus.
Gov. Mike Parson's statewide stay-at-home order went into effect Monday and is expected to remain in effect until at least April 24.
