TUESDAY UPDATES: Stephens College to hold graduation in September
COVID-19 case numbers might differ among state and local health authorities because of issues with reporting and address verification.
UPDATE 7 P.M.: Stephens College in Columbia has set a date for its Class of 2020 graduation ceremony.
Graduate and online student commencement will be held Sept. 11 in the Kimball Ballroom of Lela Raney Wood Hall on the Stephens campus.
Undergraduate commencement will take place Sept. 12 at the Missouri Theatre in downtown Columbia.
Graduation had been postponed from its usual late-May to August as the COVID-19 pandemic gained steam this spring. However, some local health restrictions are likely to still be in effect in August.
The school also plans an all-day Senior Showcase where graduating students can show their work.
More information is at https://www.stephens.edu/commencement/.
MU researchers to track COVID-19 in human waste
University of Missouri researchers are part of a study to detect the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in human waste.
Over the next year MU will partner with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services for the research project. Researchers will look for the novel coronavirus in samples of sewage from around the state.
The study comes after recent research showing the virus can be detected in human waste.
UPDATE 5 P.M.: Boone County recorded its largest jump in new COVID-19 cases Tuesday since setting a record last week.
The number of county residents hospitalized with the illness, though still small, also made a major increase.
County health officials reported 10 new cases to bring the county's total cases since the pandemic began to 287. The county also gained three active cases to reach 73 as recoveries offset some new cases.
Tuesday's increase is the biggest since the record 18-case jump Thursday and ranks among the largest single-day increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of Boone County residents hospitalized for COVID-19 also jumped Tuesday, from one to five. Health officials say 15 Boone County residents have been hospitalized for the illness since the pandemic began.
Another 126 people are in quarantine because they had close contact with a known COVID-19 case.
Several other Mid-Missouri counties also reported increased cases on the same day Missouri reported a record 434 new cases.
Cole County reported two new cases, bringing the total of active cases to six and total cases to 63. The increase comes after the county reported its second COVID-19 death Monday.
Callaway County, which has recently started posting weekly updates instead of daily updates, reported two new cases over the past week, bringing its total to 43.
Audrain County reported one new case Tuesday, bringing its total to 137. Pettis County reported two new cases. Montgomery County reported two new cases.
UPDATE 2:36 P.M.: Missouri set a new record for daily COVID-19 case increases on Tuesday after adding more than 400 new coronavirus cases.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said in a tweet COVID-19 cases were up to 18,577 from 18,143 on Monday. Cases increased by 434 over the past 24 hours.
According to health department data, it's the third time in four days Missouri has set new coronavirus records. The Show-Me state broke records on each Saturday and Sunday.
A tweet from the health department said COVID-19 deaths were up to 966 up by five from the day before.
Over the last week, the state has added 2,160 confirmed coronavirus cases. COVID-19 deaths increased by 84 over the same length of time.
UPDATE 1:29 P.M.: Kaldi's Coffee in downtown Columbia will remain closed until further notice as other area coffee shops and eateries have reopened.
Coffee shop spokesman Frank McGinty said the business is not ready to reopen just yet.
"We would love to reopen, but the combination of COVID-19 and (the University of Missouri) being out, there are still a lot of unanswered questions," McGinty said.
A sign hung up in the front window of Kaldi's storefront on 9th Street said the store is temporarily closed. The coffee shop said in a tweet that all Kaldi's cafes closed on March 21.
The spokesman added the Kaldi's location inside MU's Robert J. Truslake College of Business will reopen when school starts in the fall.
McGinty said Kaldi's operates 19 locations across the state, two of which are in Columbia. As of Tuesday, six Kaldi's locations are back open, McGinty said.
"At the end of the day, reopening our stores has to make sense from a business perspective," McGinty said.
The spokesman said all of the workers at the Columbia store were laid off or furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
UPDATE 11:17 A.M.: The Cole County Health Department with the Missouri National Guard and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services scheduled a COVID-19 community testing event in early July.
A Facebook post from the county health department said the testing events will be held from July 7 through July 9.
The post said testing will be held from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. at the health department located at 1616 Industrial Dr. in Jefferson City.
Missouri residents regardless of having COVID-19 symptoms can receive a free test, the post said. The health department said people who plan on attending are required to register online.
Community testing events have been held recently in Boone County recently and Moniteau County.
ORIGINAL: A new Boone County health order that relaxes restrictions on businesses and public gatherings took effect Tuesday amid a rise in COVID-19 cases.
Since June 19, the county has reported 20 new cases of coronavirus. As of June 21, 52 percent of all the cases in Boone County have been in people under the age of 30.
The order eliminates occupancy limits for most businesses and allows personal care services, daycares and swimming pools increase their occupancy.
While the new order allows larger public gatherings, the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health encouraged people to take steps to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 like practicing social distancing, avoiding indoor gatherings and wearing face coverings in public.
The new Boone County health order will last until July 20.
