City of Columbia buildings, universities and schools relaxing mask requirements as case numbers stay low

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Almost 3 weeks after Columbia and Boone County lifted the health order requiring masks and social distancing, more steps are being taken to return to normal.

Starting June 1, leaders will no longer require masks inside of city or county government buildings.

Both the city and county still advise people who are not vaccinated to wear masks. Masks will still be required on public transportation and at transportation, and at the Health Department.

The University of Missouri is also changing its policies, on masks and social distancing on Tuesday. The university will no longer require masks indoors. It will also no longer require Incident Command to approve campus events. 

Columbia Public Schools will no longer require masks indoors or on buses starting June 4. People can still choose to wear masks. 

Several other organizations in the area are also changing their guidelines including Stephens College, Columbia College, and Moberly Area Community College.

The assistant director of the health department Scott Clardy said while the requirements are lifted, there are still some recommendations.

"Certainly from a public health perspective, we would still recommend social distancing and wearing a mask, especially if they haven't been vaccinated," Clardy said. "I think this kind of going to become our new normal in a way, it's just going to be to be careful, especially if you can't be vaccinated."

He said it's mostly about comfort level right now. If someone is vaccinated and still wants to wear a mask, they are more than welcome too.

"Just do what you feel comfortable doing," Clardy said, saying if you feel more comfortable wearing a mask in a restaurant or store, you should wear it. "I think everyone has every right to do that."

Since the mask ordinance was lifted on May 12, case rates have stayed relatively steady.

When the order lifted on May 12, Boone County's 5-day average daily case total was at 8.6. It then dropped slightly before increasing to 14 on May 20. It has since gone down, and the latest data show the rate was at 9.6 cases as of May 28.

Clardy said they have not seen any "spikes" in cases since the mask mandate lifted, but said there has been a slight upward tick in some of the measures they follow, like hospitalizations. In Boone County, 20 people are reported to be suffering from COVID-19 in hospitals. Four of those are Boone County residents.

"Most of the hospitalization in Boone County are from people outside of Boone County, so that's still encouraging for us," Clardy said. "We update that data every day are we are going to continue to keep an eye on it, that's not going to stop. If we start seeing anything of concern, we'll make sure the public knows that."

Watch ABC17 News at 9 and 10 for a full report.