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COVID-19 case surge prompts Columbia City Council to give health director more power

city of columbia
Columbia City Hall

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A massive jump in the number of COVID-19 cases between the end of August and the start of September has prompted the Columbia City Council to give the health director authority to extend the order.

Columbia saw a 206 percent increase in its COVID-19 case rate between the two-week period that ended Aug. 23 to the two-week period that ended Sept. 7.

Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Stephanie Browning told the Columbia City Council that the case rate went from 422.21 cases per 100,000 people to 871.09 cases per 100,000 people.

The council voted Tuesday to allow Browning to extend the current health order by at least three weeks.

The health department's assistant director, Scott Clardy, said Wednesday that the largest increase in cases is in the 10-19 and 20-24 age groups.

"The fact that students are out in our community, I think there is virus transmission going on as a result of that," Clardy said.

Fourth Ward Councilman Ian Thomas said he thinks this increase could be because of the fact that bars and gyms are open. He said Tuesday that he supports recommendations in a White House coronavirus task force report to shut down them down.

"Following these recommendations is the best way to get back to the life we used to live or at least as close as possible," Thomas said.

Nic Parks, the owner of Silverball in downtown Columbia, said shutting down the bars would only work if businesses are compensated.

"I would be supportive if they compensate the businesses they are shutting down. Weighing health risks with economic costs is tough," he said.

Browning said without a statewide plan, it would be hard to shut down bars and restaurants again in Columbia and Boone County.

"I’m rooting for area bars and restaurants to make it through this tough time," Parks said.

Mayor Brian Treece is looking to offer free testing without needing a doctors note or symptoms, and he is looking to raise the penalty for mask violations when the current mask order expires.

Article Topic Follows: Columbia

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Zola Crowder

Zola Crowder joined the ABC 17 News team as a multimedia journalist in June 2020 after graduating from the University of Missouri with a broadcast journalism degree. Before reporting at ABC 17, Zola was a reporter at KOMU where she learned to cover politics, crime, education, economics and more.

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