TUESDAY UPDATES: Capitol Plaza Hotel furloughs 100-plus
COVID-19 case numbers might differ among state and local health authorities because of issues with reporting and address verification.
UPDATE 6 P.M.: The Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City is furloughing 108 workers, according to a notice the hotel's owners gave to the state.
Atrium Hospitality, which owns the hotel, cited the COVID-19 pandemic in its letter to the state as the reason for the 108 furloughs, which began in March.
The owners wrote in the letter that they hope the furloughs will be temporary but the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic means they can't guarantee workers will be rehired.
UPDATE 5:30 P.M.: Boone, Callaway and Cole counties reported no new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, but Callaway County officials said a jump in a neighboring county was reason to be careful.
Boone County's cases held steady at 105 with eight of them active. The number of active cases was down one from the day before. Tuesday was the first day without new cases in the county since the weekend. A long streak of little to no growth in cases was snapped this weekend when four new cases were reported.
Boone County officials also unveiled an information hub website Tuesday with more detailed data, including graphs showing trends in new cases. The five-day average for new cases in Boone County as of Monday was one, according to the website.
The Cole County Health Department continued to report 54 cases total with none active. The county has not reported a new case in 10 days.
One of Callaway County's 22 cases remained active Tuesday. The county last reported new cases on May 1.
The Callaway County Health Department urged residents to stay cautious after cases in neighboring Audrain County went from two to 16 in 48 hours.
UPDATE 2:10 P.M.: Missouri continued to show slower growth in new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
Cases statewide increased by 135 to reach 11,080 after an increase of 156 on Tuesday. Deaths increased by 11 for the second straight day to reach 616.
The growth in cases started slowly this week after dropping throughout the previous week. An ABC 17 News analysis last week showed the state's seven-day rolling average of daily new cases had dropped to 138 by Friday.
State leaders have touted the positive trend as a sign that progress continues two weeks after a statewide stay-at-home order lifted.
Several local counties continue to report little or no growth in cases. Cole County on Monday reported no active COVID-19 cases. Boone County's cases increased by five in recent days but the county had seen a long period of slow growth up to that point.
Boone County reported no new cases Tuesday. However, more cases are showing up in the black population -- 18 percent of the confirmed COVID-19 positive cases in the county.
However, local hot spots exist.
Saline County has 253 confirmed cases, according to state numbers, despite its small population. Health officials in Audrain County, which had only two cases before this week, reported several cases Monday and Tuesday tied to hog farms.
St. Louis County continues to lead the state with 4,226 cases as of Tuesday's count. That county also accounted for 345 deaths.
The Missouri Hospital Association reported 550 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of Monday afternoon, a decrease of 20 from Sunday.
UPDATE 12:35 P.M.: St.Louis-based BJC HealthCare -- which operates Boone Hospital Center -- said Tuesday that it has furloughed nearly 3,000 workers because of COVID-19-related business losses.
The nonprofit furloughed 2,962 employees last week, with many of those furloughs lasting eight weeks. Employees and their dependents will get their medical and dental insurance premiums paid by BJC, spokeswoman June Fowler said in a statement Tuesday.
Employees will not have to repay those costs when they return to work.
Some furloughs could be shorter than eight weeks depending on patient volume, Fowler said.
BJC is experiencing the same revenue problems as health care companies around the country. As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold medical providers began to cancel elective procedures and purchased extra personal protective equipment for staff.
BJC signaled the furloughs were coming two weeks ago, when the company said it has also suspended its matches to employee retirement accounts, delayed pay increases and cut executive salary.
The company said in the release two weeks ago that it's likely that patient volume will not return as quickly as BJC had hoped.
A spokeswoman said BJC is not releasing specific numbers of furloughs at different facilities, including Boone Hospital.
UPDATE 11:25 A.M.: The Audrain County Health Department said 13 new COVID-19 cases are linked to two Mid-Missouri hog farms.
The health department's Facebook page posted yesterday four employees from Brenneman Pork tested positive for COVID-19.
Health department administrator Dr. Sandra Hewlett said Tuesday nine more workers from two area farms also tested positive. She added Brenneman Pork operates hog farms in Paris and Thompson.
Hewlett said one other person not connected to the hog farm has also tested positive for novel coronavirus.
Audrain County had two confirmed cases of COVID-19 before the increases this week.
ARC reopening pools at reduced capacity
Columbia's Activity and Recreation Center said Monday its Water Zone is set to reopen this week with COVID-19 measures in place.
The post on the ARC's Facebook page said the pools will reopen with reduced capacity and social distancing guidelines in effect Wednesday.
The announcement included 75 people will be allowed into the Water Zone at a time. It added poolside seating will not be provided, ARC staff will sanitize commonly used areas and that the pool area will be cleaned every night.
People will be denied access to the facility if they have symptoms for COVID-19, or if they have had symptoms within the previous three days.
The hydrotherapy pool will not reopen immediately.
