Health department hopeful cases could decrease as Columbia students go home for the holidays
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
As Columbia continues to grapple with surging COVID-19 cases and hospital capacity issues, a large population of people is leaving Columbia for the year: students.
The University of Missouri, Stephens College, and Columbia College have all dismissed for Thanksgiving break and will switch to virtual learning for the rest of the calendar year.
The Assistant Director of the Columbia/Boone County Health Department Scott Clardy said this may help avoid another spike in cases like was seen when classes started in August.
"I'm hoping they'll go down, but what we are most excited about is that it won't represent an increase in cases from that," Clardy said.
As of Friday, 3,099 cases have been found in the people aged 18-22, making up 34 percent of the total 9,081, according to the Columbia/Boone County Health Department.
Clardy said with most students not being in town, he expects to see less community transmission of the virus, which could reduce the number of cases and number of those in the hospital.
When Mizzou made the decision to go online, business leaders and owners in Columbia said the lack of students could impact sales and staffing, but ultimately said something has to be done to reduces the spread of COVID-19.
While this could be good news for the area, the health department is more worried about what is going to happen after the Thanksgiving holiday.
"We have a concern that we may actually see an increase in hospitalizations after all of the family gatherings that are going to occur," Clardy said.
He said they have already seen people disregarding the department's recommendations for the Thanksgiving holiday.
"Family gatherings, you have the opportunity to be in contact with more vulnerable populations whether that be the elderly or people with chronic conditions," Clardy said. "So I think we will continue to see an increase in hospitalizations after the holiday."
Right now, the university and colleges plan to return in person in January to start the new semester. Clardy said that it could bring another spike to Columbia.
"A lot can happen between now and then, but I would say that we wouldn't be surprised if we don't see some of the same types of issues we saw when they came back in August and September," Clardy said.
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