THURSDAY UPDATES: Jefferson City School District and Lincoln University lift mask requirements

The Jefferson City School District and Lincoln University are changing their mask wearing protocols for the upcoming school year.

Lincoln University will not require mask wearing on campus beginning Monday, June 14, 2021. The campus has been under a mask wearing protocol since the campus reopened in May 2020.

Masks are still recommended for anyone who is not fully vaccinated or with a comprised immune system, but are not required.

Classrooms and meeting spaces at the university will still allow for social distancing throughout the summer.

Officials at the Jefferson City School District determined it is safe to make the following changes to the COVID-19 plan for summer school (June 7th - July 1st).

The district will lift the mask requirement for the second half of our summer school session. This change will be effective beginning on June 21st and continue through the end of summer school on July 1st.

Students will leave their primary classroom to receive Art, Music, and Library instruction. They will remain in their cohort groups, and the classroom and equipment will be sanitized between classes;

Some schools will begin allowing students to eat meals in the cafeteria again, within their small groups and while maintaining appropriate social distance to minimize exposure;

Boone County active coronavirus cases drop; first dose vaccine rate reaches 49 percent

The Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services is reporting four new COVID-19 cases.

There are currently 59 active cases in the county, a decrease of three cases from Wednesday.

The county now has a reported total number of COVID-19 cases of 18,609.

The county has reported the total number of cases removed from isolation is 18,434, an increase of seven cases from Wednesday.

The health department's hospital status remains in yellow.

The health department is reporting five Boone County residents are in the hospital due to the coronavirus.

There are a total of 30 people hospitalized at a Boone County hospital due to the coronavirus.

The dashboard is showing 13 COVID-19 patients in the ICU and six patients on a ventilator.

The State of Missouri coronavirus vaccine dashboard is reporting that 88,443 residents have received their first dose in Boone County and 77,207 Boone County residents have completed their vaccine doses.

Boone County has the largest percentage of people in Mid-Missouri that have received at least one dose of the vaccine with 49%. The second closest in the state is St. Louis County with 46.9%.

Boone County is first in the state with a reported 42.8% of residents that have completed their coronavirus vaccine doses. St. Charles County is second in the state with 39.3% of residents have completed the doses for vaccination.

Cole County has the second-highest first vaccination rate in Mid-Missouri with 39.3%. Montgomery County is third with 35%.