MU leaders say various figures go into the decision to go fully online as cases continue to spike

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

As schools in Columbia continue to face difficult decisions about how to move forward amid a global pandemic, many eyes are on how the University of Missouri is handling the challenge.

In the MU student community 483 cases of COVID-19 are currently active, totaling about 1.6 percent of the student population. There have been 683 cases total reported in Boone County since August 19.

In faculty and staff members, 38 have self-reported that have tested positive. Of those, eight have recovered from the virus.

University Spokesman Christian Basi said the university feels like things are going well enough that they can continue to hold in-person and hybrid classes.

"Right now, our plan to manage the disease is working," Basi said Wednesday. "We are seeing an increase in numbers, we expected this to happen. We are hoping we will begin to see some leveling out soon, we're going to keep watching the numbers and stay very close to that."

He said they are disappointed with how some students are behaving off campus, citing about 330 student mis-conduct violations in regards to COVID-19 restrictions.

While Mizzou continues to hold classes, Columbia Public Schools has decided to start the year off fully online because of the prevalence of the virus within the district's boundaries.

That decision came down to a 6-1 vote by the school board, with member Blake Willoughby being the only member to vote no on starting the year online.

During the meeting, he brought up concerns about just how big of an impact CPS not being in session will 'flatten the curve.' While he does believe the district will have some impact in the total number of cases, he believes other entities are already causing these case spikes.

"We haven't started school yet, so we aren't the inciting incident for what has caused this spike," Willoughby said Wednesday.

Of the 2,877 total cases in Boone County reported as of Wednesday, 948 are in the 20-24 age group. 561 are in the 10-19 age group, while 114 are in the 0-9 age group.

Willoughby called for community leaders to focus on reducing the plan and change policies so that the district can get students back in the classroom as soon as possible.

During the meeting Monday, he also asked the director of the Columbia/Boone County Health Department if she was aware of the university's trigger to go fully online.

"It would be nice to know as a community here in Columbia since we are so inter-connected... What are the metrics? What is the measurement that we would be seeing the university leaders look at when making that decision so that we are aware," Willoughby said.

When asked if the university has a trigger point to go fully online, Basi said they don't have one specific number that would spark the campus to shut its doors.

"What we're looking at is, can we manage this?" Basi said. "As long as we are able to maintain that management, we are going to stick with this plan."

He said the university looks at several different data points, and it's medical experts are saying the resources are available and the current cases are manageable.

In the circumstance the university does make a change, Basi said it would look like what happened in spring, but likely with more time for students and families to make arrangements.

"Because we are able to watch this and we aren't looking at a certain number, we're not going to be making a last-minute decision," Basi said.

Assistant Director of the Columbia/Boone County Health Department Scott Clardy said there is not a set recommendation or number for universities to go fully online, also saying there is a variety of data that could cause problems.

He said right now, they are not seeing shortages in hospital resources or other supplies, so they are not having conversations with the univeristy about a potential closure.

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