Health Archives

The director of the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services on Thursday extended the current COVID-19 order, which had been set to expire Tuesday.

WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Boone County active coronavirus cases rises to 744; highest since Jan. 25

July 21, 2021 7:11 AM ABC 17 News Team

Check back here for updates on the COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri.

Delta variant in Missouri goes from single digits to nearly 90% in two months

July 21, 2021 5:28 AM Zola Crowder

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the delta variant now accounts for nearly 90% of all new COVID-19 cases in Missouri. In less than two months, the proportion of the delta variant in Missouri went from less than 7% to just under 90%. On June 8,

Boone County fair gains safety approval for carnival rides and food vendors as it returns to Columbia

July 20, 2021 7:04 PM Chanel Porter

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The State Fire Marshal and the Columbia/Boone County Health Department gave the Boone County Fair the green light to open the carnival rides and food vendors this week at the Boone County Fairgrounds. Gus Guadamuz, Supervisor of Missouri’s Amusement Ride Safety Unit, said all rides have to go through two levels of

A year after the virus stopped the Boone County Fair, it’s back with a way to stop the virus

July 20, 2021 5:28 AM Zola Crowder

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Boone County Fair is back after being canceled due to the pandemic last year, and this time it’s making a return to Columbia. Along with the return, local health officials are offering coronavirus vaccine clinics at the fair all week long in hopes of adding to the 173,418 total doses already

Columbia Regional Airport passengers increase by more than 386% in June

July 14, 2021 6:10 AM Zola Crowder

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) As the economy bounces back from the pandemic, Columbia Regional Airport is continuing to see a significant increase in travelers compared to 2020. Compared to June 2020, COU saw a 386.6% increase in passengers in June 2021. Even though passenger numbers are increasing, it still has not reached pre-pandemic levels. In June

Supreme Court of Missouri considers future of Medicaid expansion

July 13, 2021 3:41 AM Lucas Geisler

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri’s highest court will now decide on the future of Medicaid expansion in the state. The court’s seven judges heard arguments Tuesday morning in an appeal of a Cole County court decision ruling the voter-approved expansion unconstitutional. You can listen to the audio of arguments here. A Cole County judge ruled

Columbia Public Schools new mask guidelines to go into effect Monday

July 12, 2021 5:32 AM Zola Crowder

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Public Schools updated its mask, contact tracing, and quarantine guidelines for the remainder of summer school. Starting Monday, Students 11 years-old and younger will be required to wear a mask when indoors and on school buses. However, students will not be required to wear a mask when outdoors. Masks are still strongly encouraged

Hospitalization concerns grow as state health leaders meet to discuss coronavirus surge

July 9, 2021 12:51 PM Ben Fein

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services hosted a virtual meeting to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the Show Me State.

Details released on CDC surge teams already deployed to Missouri

July 8, 2021 5:44 AM Molly Stawinoga

Federal surge teams are in Missouri to help with the rising cases, low vaccination rates, and the spread of the Delta variant.

Federal surge teams forming this week to help mitigation efforts in Missouri

July 5, 2021 4:38 AM Zola Crowder

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has accepted assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address the spread of COVID-19. Formation of the surge teams will begin this week. The CDC and their associated foundation offered to recruit and hire surge teams consisting of public health professionals

Officials warn of the importance of firework safety ahead of Columbia’s Fire in the Sky

July 4, 2021 5:00 AM Hannah Falcon

The bicentennial celebration of Columbia’s Fire in the Sky wraps up Sunday. The annual Fourth of July festival has a lineup of family-friendly musical guests and a historical tour of Columbia planned for the final day.

Reminder of CDC food safety as Fourth of July events continue at Salute to America in Jefferson City

July 3, 2021 4:22 AM Zola Crowder

Jefferson City, Mo. (KMIZ) Salute to American events continue in Jefferson City Saturday ahead of the 4th of July holiday, and many food trucks and vendors are ready for the large crowds. However, there is still proper food safety precautions to take as cases and positivity rates continue to rise in Missouri. As of Friday

White House to deploy surge response teams to Delta variant hot spots, including Missouri

July 2, 2021 5:24 AM Zola Crowder

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Biden administration plans to deploy surge response teams to hot spots across the country where the Delta variant presents the most risk to unvaccinated Americans. The state’s vaccine dashboard shows just over 39% of Missourians are fully vaccinated, and 44.5% have initiated vaccination. As cases continue to rise in Missouri, the

Missourians to rally Thursday, when voter-approved Medicaid expansion was supposed to take effect

July 1, 2021 5:58 AM Zola Crowder

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) On Thursday, the day Medicaid expansion would have taken effect, Missourians plan to rally outside the Governors Mansion at 11 a.m. Missourians in support of expansion plan to share their personal health care stories during the rally. Missouri Jobs with Justice has set up a hotline where Missourians can express their

Missouri positivity rate rises to 8.2%

June 30, 2021 11:21 AM Josie Anglin

Missouri’s seven-day positivity rate has risen to 8.2% since Tuesday, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Missouri House to introduce Federal Reimbursement Allowance in special session Monday

June 28, 2021 6:09 AM Meghan Drakas

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri House is set to introduce the Federal Reimbursement Allowance in a special session on Monday after it was passed in the Senate early Saturday morning. Normally, the FRA is passed with bipartisan support. The special session was called after the legislature failed to pass the FRA for the first

The Missouri Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 numbers reported June 27.

SUNDAY UPDATES: Missouri sees a near 20% increase in week to week coronavirus cases

June 27, 2021 4:38 PM Zach Boetto

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported 467 new cases of the coronavirus Sunday, bringing the total case count since the start of the pandemic to 522,889. The state dashboard says new cases are up by 19.6% over the past seven days. The positivity rate is currently at 7.7%. Missouri

SATURDAY STORM & FLOODING UPDATES: Photo and video gallery

June 26, 2021 4:55 AM Meghan Drakas

COLUMBIA, Mo. According to Boone County Office of Emergency Management, a flash flood warning is issued until 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. Multiple areas of Boone County are still underwater and as of 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, MoDOT reported 206 roads closed in the state due to flooding. You can find a link to their Traveler

Motorcyclist fatalities and helmet-less deaths increase in 2021

June 23, 2021 6:25 PM Chanel Porter

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, motorcyclist fatalities statewide have increased by 40% in 2021 and helmet-less deaths are up by nearly 800%. In August of last year, a law began in Missouri allowing licensed motorcyclists, 26 or older and with proof of health insurance, to ride without helmets. Cpt. Brian

Moniteau County coronavirus positivity rate soars as health officials work to increase vaccinations

June 22, 2021 11:59 AM Leila Mitchell

The health center in a Facebook post Monday said the positivity rate had reached 17.5% and urged residents to get vaccinated. By Tuesday, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard had the rate at 20%.