WEDNESDAY UPDATES: Lincoln University cutting positions to make up for COVID-19-related losses
UPDATE 10 P.M: Lincoln University will cut 41 positions and employee pay will be reduced 2.5 percent in the coming fiscal year to make up for COVID-19-related losses.
The LU Board of Curators approved the budget for fiscal 2021 on Monday.
The position cuts include 17 jobs that are currently filled and another 24 that are vacant.
Lincoln expects to save about $3 million in wages and another approximately $1 million in benefits with the cuts compared to the fiscal 2020 budget, according to figures provided by the university. The pay cut will begin July 1 with the university’s fiscal year, spokeswoman Misty Young said.
Lincoln, like other public universities nationwide, is bracing for continued loss of revenue in both payments from students and from the state. The budget passed Monday assume state funding will be more than $4 million under what Lincoln requested in the current budget year.
Tuition and fees are expected to decrease about $4.4 million compared to the budget passed before the current fiscal year. Lincoln expects to gain about $3.4 million in funding from the federal CARES Act.
The Lincoln University Missouri National Education Association, a union representing Lincoln faculty, had endorsed a budget plan that would avoid layoffs.
Union leader Michael Scott was critical of the budget curators passed in a statement sent to media.
Scott said the layoffs would reduce the quality of education the university can offer.
“The lay-offs, coupled with a planned pay cut, disproportionately harm lower-paid faculty and staff. All this while maintaining new administrative jobs,” Scott said. “The time ahead is uncertain, but we can make a better, more humane choice.”
Scott said the union looks forward to exploring options with curators “to ensure our students receive the education they deserve.”
UPDATED 5:15 P.M.: Cole County reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.
The new cases brought the county's total since the pandemic began to 65. The county reported eight active cases, also up two from Tuesday.
Cole County cases have been steadily but slowly rising over the last week, increasing by seven in the past eight days. The county also reported its second COVID-19 death this week.
The department reported on its website that 6,661 Cole County residents have tested negative.
Community testing open to everyone with or without symptoms will be offered in Jefferson City from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 7-July 9. Online registration is required.
UPDATED 3:50 P.M.: Boone County recorded another double-digit jump in COVID-19 cases Wednesday.
Local health officials reported 302 cases on Wednesday, up from 287 the day before. The number of active cases increased by 11 to 84 as some recoveries offset the new cases.
The 15-case jump continued a trend of increasing rates of new cases over time in Boone County after state and local stay-at-home orders lifted last month. The county set its pandemic record for new daily cases Thursday with 18.
A Columbia/Boone County health department official told ABC 17 News this week that many of the new cases are in younger people, who are at lower risk of the worst effects of COVID-19.
The highest number of cases are in two of the youngest age groups, according to the department's COVID-19 dashboard -- ages 15-24 and 25-44.
Five Boone County residents were in a hospital with COVID-19 on Wednesday. The number was at one to start the week.
The health department reports 128 people are in quarantine because they have had contact with a known case.
UPDATED 2:30 P.M.: New COVID-19 cases made another large increase on Wednesday, though the jump fell short of the record set three times between the weekend and Tuesday.
The Missouri Department of Health and Human Services reported 18,868 cases statewide, an increase of 291 over Tuesday. The state reported 14 new COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours.
The state set a record for new daily cases Tuesday at 434. The number of COVID-19 cases across Missouri has risen by 8.9 percent in the last week.
The state says 5.6 percent of people tested for live coronavirus have tested positive.
The Missouri Hospital Association has stopped publishing daily updates on hospitalizations and hospital capacity, instead publishing regional data each Wednesday. The data are current as of the previous Saturday.
According to the most recent data for the central region of Missouri, hospital capacity was at 22 percent on Saturday and ICU capacity was at 39 percent in the region.
The MHA reported 984 tests in the central region between June 14 and Saturday, with 1.3 percent of those tested coming back positive. The region saw 60 new cases during the reporting period.
Missouri is averaging 320 new cases per day over the past seven days -- a number that has been rising.
Statewide about 327,000 people have been tested for live coronavirus.
Gov. Mike Parson said Tuesday that an increase in testing was behind the increase in cases, stressing that the record increases will not lead to reimposing a statewide health order.
Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said hospitalizations are at a low for the entire pandemic. The average age of positive patients is also dropping as more young people test positive, Williams said.
Parson said the record case numbers were largely attributable to regional outbreaks, specifically one happening in southwest Missouri.
Boone County is among the counties seeing a marked increase in cases. Local health authorities reported 287 cases Tuesday. Hospitalizations of Boone County residents with COVID-19 jumped from one to five.
The local health department has not updated Wednesday numbers.
UPDATED 12:45 P.M.: The Moberly School District is asking parents whether they want students to be in classrooms or learning online in the fall as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
The district posted a link to a survey on its social media pages Tuesday.
"We understand that your opinions may change as the status of the pandemic changes between now and the beginning of the school year, so you may anticipate additional surveys later this summer," the district said.
Many school districts are taking a similar approach. Columbia Public Schools released plans this week and is asking parents to respond by Tuesday whether they want their child in a classroom or learning online in August.
Health officials have said the pandemic is likely to last through summer and into the fall, affecting how schools plan to teach children. The CPS plans for online and in-class instructions are available below.
UPDATE 12:15 P.M.: The Roots N Blues Festival in Columbia will not happen this year because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, organizers announced Wednesday.
The festival posted on its website that the event is postponed until September 2021.
"The exact timing for when it will become safe for us to operate still remains unclear," the festival said in a Facebook post. "Today, we have reached the conclusion that it is in the best interest of our staff, volunteers, artists, crews, and patrons that we postpone the Roots N Blues Festival to 2021."
Festival organizers said they've retained 95 percent of the planned 2020 lineup for the 2021 festival but did not name the acts.
Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Sheryl Crow and Mavis Staples were slated as headliners for this year's event.
All passes purchased for the 2020 festival will be honored for 2021, organizers said.
The concert industry is one that has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, as health rules in many areas prevent large gatherings and many people have reservations about attending such events as the novel coronavirus continues its spread.
ORIGINAL: An employee of a downtown Columbia restaurant who tested positive for COVID-19 had no contact with customers, according to restaurant management.
However, Billiards on Broadway still plans to close for two weeks to disinfect and allow any potentially exposed workers to quarantine. The employee who tested positive had limited contact with other workers, the restaurant says.
The restaurant made the announced Tuesday on its Facebook page.
The restaurant said management consulted with health authorities who determined there was no reason for customers to be concerned.
