Boone County joins surrounding areas by removing COVID-19 restrictions Wednesday
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
On Wednesday, the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services will let the health order expire at noon and will no longer require businesses to enforce social distancing and mask-wearing.
Boone County's mask mandate for businesses will end on Wednesday, after the city of Columbia first issued the order in July 2020. It's a stark difference from Cole County, which never required masks unless an individual business chose to put a policy in place.
As the local owner of Carrie's Hallmark Shop in Jefferson City, Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin did require masks in her shop at one point but doesn't currently require masks for customers. She said she hasn't really seen a change in business at her shop since she changed the requirement.
"I think really people are just getting out more in general," Tergin said.
Tergin said her shop had changed some of its services it offers to customers due to the pandemic.
"We still do offer things like curbside and things we maybe didn't do in the past," Tergin said.
Even though the Boone County health order ending, businesses will still be able to enforce mask-wearing if they choose to do so and can refuse service to any person who doesn't comply with a business's policy.
Sara Humm, a spokeswoman for the PHHS, says the department is still encouraging people to follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by wearing masks in large groups and while indoors.
"We are still encouraging folks to continue to use those mitigation efforts," Humm said. "Especially if [you're in groups] where there are folks who are unvaccinated or if you're not sure if they're vaccinated."
In the state profile report released on Tuesday, the state reported a six-percent increase in COVID-19 cases per 100,000 cases from the previous week.
According to the state dashboard, Cole County is the eighth-highest vaccinated jurisdiction in the state with 36.4% of the population receiving at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 31.1% of the population being fully vaccinated.
Boone County continues to rank as the highest-vaccinated jurisdiction in the state with 45.2% of the population initiating the process and 38.4% of the population being fully vaccinated.
