Tuesday, May 26 summary
The number of positive cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Boone County is currently 123 with 101 who have been released from isolation at the time of publishing. There are 12 new cases from the previous press release update on Friday, May 22 and the number released from isolation has increased by 3. There are no new cases from Monday, May 25 to Tuesday, May 26. While press release updates are only issued on days City offices are open, the data are updated daily on CoMo.gov/Coronavirus. Tuesday’s Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) Facebook Live video discussed the risks of exposure and answered questions from residents. View the video on their Facebook page and see some information below from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Below is information about changes to residential and commercial recycling the week of May 25.
Cases in Boone County
| Total positive cases | Active | Released from isolation | Deaths |
| 123 | 21 | 101 | 1 |
Ages:
<15: 5 case
15-24: 35 cases (2 additional cases from the May 22 press release update)
25-44: 46 cases (5 additional cases from the May 22 press release update)
45-64: 30 cases (5 additional cases from the May 22 press release update)
65+: 7 cases
Transmission:
Travel-related: 30 cases
Contact to a confirmed case: 50 cases (6 additional cases from the May 22 press release update)
Community transmission: 41 cases (6 additional cases from the May 22 press release update, 2 moved from the "unknown" category)
Unknown: 2 cases
Health message
The CDC states that the onset and duration of viral shedding and the period of infectiousness for COVID-19 are not yet known.
It is possible that SARS-CoV-2 RNA may be detectable in the upper or lower respiratory tract for weeks after illness onset, similar to infections with MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV. However, detection of viral RNA does not necessarily mean that infectious virus is present. There are reports of asymptomatic infections (detection of virus with no development of symptoms) and pre-symptomatic infections (detection of virus prior to development of symptoms) with SARS-CoV-2, but their role in transmission is not yet known.
The CDC states that based on existing literature, the incubation period (the time from exposure to development of symptoms) of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses (e.g. MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV) ranges from 2-14 days.
Changes to City services
Utilities - Solid Waste
As a reminder, during the week of May 25, a number of service changes will affect curbside residential recycling and trash and commercial recycling collection efforts in Columbia. These changes include:
- Collections dates will be delayed one day due to the Memorial Day holiday. Monday routes will be collected on Tuesday, Tuesday routes on Wednesday, and so on.
- There will be no curbside residential recycling collection during the week of May 25.
- Only normal trash will be collected. Bulky items such as furniture, appliances, etc. will not be collected.
- There could be additional changes throughout the week of May 25 and beyond. City officials encourage all solid waste customers to watch for additional messages regarding service changes.
- Commercial recycling will not be collected the week of May 25.
On Saturday, May 23, Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services confirmed to the City of Columbia that several solid waste employees, as well as several employees of the temporary staffing agency used to collect recycling and trash, would be placed in isolation due to exposure to coronavirus COVID-19.
The number of staff affected is sufficient enough to prevent the utility from collecting both trash and recycling from residential curbside customers. As the collection and proper disposal of trash is essential to the health and safety of the community, all efforts will be shifted to normal trash collection.
Although residential curbside recycling will not occur the week of May 25, customers can take their recycling materials to one of 11 recycling drop off points. A map of these locations can be found at CoMo.gov/Utilities/SolidWaste.
Official information from the City of Columbia and Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) can be found at CoMo.gov/Coronavirus. The City will also be utilizing City and PHHS official social media accounts to post updates. They can be found at @CoMoGov on Facebook and Twitter and @CoMoHealthDept on Facebook and @CoMo_HealthDept on Twitter.