MONDAY UPDATES: City of Columbia to rent golf carts as new COVID-19 cases hold steady
COVID-19 case numbers might differ among state and local health authorities because of issues with reporting and address verification.
UPDATE 5:45 P.M.: The city of Columbia said Monday that it is now renting out a limited number of golf carts at Lake of the Woods and L.A. Nickell golf courses.
The city said it still encourages golfers to walk the courses, but some carts will be available. Rented cars will be limited to one person per cart except for immediate family members who live together, the city said. An attendant will sanitize carts between use.
The city/county health department also reported no new COVID-19 cases in Boone County for the fifth day straight, holding steady at 92 cases. Of those cases, 88 patients have recovered.
The county remains under a modified stay-at-home order through May 3 that allowed some non-essential retail businesses to start curbside and delivery sales last week. Health officials cited the slow growth of Boone County cases in relaxing restrictions.
Gov. Mike Parson on Monday also announced new rules that will replace the current statewide order when it expires. Parson said the new order will allow businesses to reopen across Missouri.
Callaway County also held steady at 20 cases with 15 active.
Mid-Missouri hot spot Moniteau County reported 41 confirmed COVID-19 cases Monday and another 11 probable cases. Another area county that has seen a spike in cases, Saline, reported 171 cases Monday.
Cole County continued to report 50 cases with 42 patients having recovered from COVID-19.
UPDATE 4:45 P.M.: The University of Missouri's Columbia campus has set up a way for employees to forgo part of their salary to help the university weather COVID-19-related financial pressure.
Paul Haberberger, associate vice chancellor for human resources, wrote in an email to staff and faculty that MU employees can fill out a form online to reduce their pay by 2 percent, 5 percent of 10 percent for up to three months.
Haberberger said in his email that several employees have asked for the ability to reduce their own pay to help the university. Gov. Mike Parson has withheld more than $36 million from the University of Missouri System in this year's budget. The budget for the coming fiscal year also looks dire, with hundreds of millions in lost revenue.
The university also paid back millions in room and board fees after closing down campus to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak.
UM System administrators and several members of the Mizzou Athletics staff are also taking 10 percent pay reductions starting Friday through July 31.
UPDATE 4:10 P.M.: Hy-Vee supermarket employees will start wearing masks or face coverings effective immediately.
The regional supermarket chain said Monday that it has been distributing masks to employees over the past several weeks and started requiring their use on Monday. The move comes as other major retailers such as Walmart have instituted similar face-covering policies.
Hy-Vee also said it will a second 10 percent bonus to its "frontline" workers' paychecks for hours worked April 13 to May 3.
Hy-Vee and other stores have also taken steps such as see-through barriers at checkouts and social distancing signs to protect customers from COVID-19.
UPDATE 2:45 P.M.: The Jefferson City School District will hold summer school online, the district said Monday.
"Without knowing definitively what the next few weeks may hold as it relates to COVID-19, or when social distancing guidelines will loosen enough to allow us to hold school in the traditional format, JC Schools has decided not to hold summer school in buildings in June as originally planned," the district said in a message to families Monday.
The district said it will partner with Launch, a virtual school program used by about 270 districts across the state.
School devices will not be collected from students "at this time" to provide devices for summer school, the district said.
Meal delivery will continue through June, the district said.
Summer school will be available to all students in grades 1-12. Those who were already enrolled will have to enroll separately in Launch, the district said.
UPDATE 2 P.M.: The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced Monday that statewide COVID-19 cases surpassed 7,000 and coronavirus-related deaths increased.
The health department website said there were at least 7,171 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, as well as 288 virus-related deaths in Missouri as of Monday. It's an increase of 174 cases and more than a dozen deaths since Sunday.
Missouri added more than 1,300 cases in the past week and nearly 100 COVID-19 deaths in the past week.
The health department tweeted Monday morning that the state can now run 50,000 tests per week across the State Public Health Lab and 15 commercial testing labs.
As of Monday, 70,932 state residents have been tested for COVID-19.
UPDATE 1:19 P.M.: Former Gov. Eric Greitens donated boxes of personal protective equipment to the Columbia Fire Department on Monday.
A tweet from the fire department said Greitens dropped off 150 N95 masks and 1000 surgical masks.
Greitens teamed up with nonprofit VirusRelief.US for the donation. The organization has more PPE pick-ups planned through next week.
The former governor has donated PPE to other first responder organizations across the state recently.
UPDATE 12:10 P.M.: Health care not-for-profit SSM will furlough 5 percent of its workers in an attempt to control costs as COVID-19 continues to affect business.
The health-care provider, which operates hospitals in Jefferson City and Mexico, said its volume of business across its four-state system has decreased about 50 percent during the pandemic.
The system said in a news release that it is moving ahead with "market-based" pay increases for employees but freezing executive pay and hiring for non-critical positions.
About 2,000 employees will be furloughed, as well.
The release said furloughs will last up to 13 weeks. SSM said furloughed employees will remain employees and can eventually return to their jobs. Other employees will have hours reduced, SSM said.
SSM will also give furloughed employees a one-time payment to make up for lost pay not made up for with government unemployment spending.
The organization will also pay health benefits for furloughed workers.
UPDATE 12 P.M.: The count of COVID-19 cases is up to five at a California, Missouri retirement community where two residents initially tested positive.
Tom Hoeferlin, the owner of Valley Park West, said three more residents have tested positive for COVID-19 after tests on all the residents last week. The retirement community houses 24 people.
Hoeferlin said two COVID-19 patients are hospitalized and three more are in isolation at the retirement community. Hoeferlin is in regular contact with local health officials, he said.
"We just take this case-by-case, and try not to overblow it and try not to underestimate it, either," Hoeferlin said.
Senior living centers including nursing homes and retirement communities have been hit hard by COVID-19. Older people are also more at risk from the most severe complications caused by the disease, including death.
Hoeferlin said residents and their families have shown patience and understanding and he commended the retirement community's staff. Last week he said some staffers were staying at the facility because of their potential exposure to the novel coronavirus.
Moniteau County has emerged as a rural hotspot for the virus. As of Sunday the health department had confirmed 41 COVID-19 cases and another 12 cases are probable.
UPDATE 11:10 A.M.: The Columbia Board of Realtors said Monday that new listings are down dramatically in April as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
"Since the start of April, overall market activity has declined due to COVID-19 uncertainties," the board said in a news release. Active listings for the first three weeks of the month were down 38 percent from last year, the organization said.
New listings are down 50 percent.
Listings that are under contract are down 26 percent.
The board said despite the decrease in activity, prices remained healthy -- the average home price was up 14 percent of the first two weeks of April.
The decrease in activity amid COVID-19 restrictions follows a solid month of sales, the board said. The number of single-family homes sold was up 17.5 percent and the prices of those sales increased, both median price and average price.
UPDATE 11 A.M.: The Moniteau County Health Center said Sunday night that it had confirmed at least 41 cases of COVID-19.
A Facebook post from the health center said there are also 12 probable cases of novel coronavirus.
As of Sunday, four residents had recovered from COVID-19 and at least two needed to be hospitalized.
The county has added eight COVID-19 cases since last week. Burgers' Smokehouse in California suspended operations until Thursday, April 30 after 21 employees tested positive for novel coronavirus.
UPDATE 10:43 A.M.: Capital Region Medical Center some in-person hospital visits on Monday.
A news release from the Jefferson City hospital said well and follow-up visits at Capital Region Physicians clinics have resumed. Telehealth visits will still be available.
The release added that COVID-19 screenings for employees, patients and visitors would continue. Visitor restrictions are still in place.
Workers will start rescheduling postponed vists, according to the hospital.
ORIGINAL: Gov. Parson said on Sunday the state will reopen in two phases, he's expected to release reopening guidance on Monday.
The governor said during his Friday daily COVID-19 briefing that guidelines would be released for large and small businesses.
Parson said the first phase of reopening would start on May 4 after the statewide stay-at-home order expires.
The governor tweeted on Sunday that the state's plan is 'data-driven,' and it will protect Missourians at-risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Parson and state leaders are set to hold a daily COVID-19 briefing at 3 p.m. on Monday. ABC 17 News will livestream the event and air the news conference live on-air.
