SUNDAY UPDATES: Columbia Public Schools COVID-19 rate continues its steady spike, Boone reports 85 new cases
UPDATE 6:00 PM: After a record-shattering daily case total on Saturday, Boone County reported 85 new cases of COVID on Sunday, the second-highest day yet.
The jump pushes the total confirmed cases in to 2,532 since the pandemic began. Of those, 659 are currently active in the county.
New cases of the virus continue to be high within the younger population, as 42 of Sunday's reported cases were in the 20-24 age range. 805 of the total cases are in the same age group.
The number of hospitalizations stayed steady at 12 in Boone County.
UPDATE 5:00 P.M.: The number Columbia Public Schools keeps tabs on to decide whether or not to go fully online spiked again on Sunday.
The number that CPS uses to determine how classes will be conducted, the 14-day rate of cases per 10,000 people in the district, hit 66.2 on Sunday.
The number has been steadily rising, after hitting the threshold for the district to consider going fully online Thursday. On Saturday, the rate reached 61.5.
If Columbia Public Schools classes were to start today, they might take place entirely online.
CPS leaders set out three tiers for cases levels based on a model used in Minnesota. If the number hits 50 or more, classes are likely to happen only online, after consulting with health officials. If they're between 10 and 49, students will go to class twice a week.
If the rate falls below 10, students will be in class five days a week.
The number has been spiking along with the large numbers in daily case totals in Boone County over the past week. On Friday the rate was at 55.3 after breaking into the above 50 zone on Thursday.
This comes after the record-shattering daily case total on Saturday, 131 cases. 83 of the cases reported on Saturday were in the 18-22 age group
UPDATE 2:15 P.M.: The State of Missouri has reported nearly 1,500 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.
The 1,465 case increase pushes the total number of cases to 83,655. 12 new deaths were also reported on Sunday, bring the toll to 1,508.
The 7 day positivity rate in Missouri went up just a bit, hitting 12.5 percent, after hovering around 12.3 percent for the past few days.
The state is reporting 1,004 people in the hospital due to the virus as of August 27th.
Petition asking for transparency, testing and online instruction at University gets over 500 signatures
A petition circulating the internet asking for transparency, testing and a move to online instruction at the University of Missouri has received more that 500 signatures.
The petition also asks the university to invest more in testing, surveillance and to be more transparent about COVID-19 data.
Organizers also are calling on Columbia Mayor Brian Treece to stand with the university and community to stope the spread of the virus.
