(COLUMBIA, MO) - Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) announced that Boone County has reported its highest single-day number of new COVID-19 cases with 81, on Aug. 21, 2020. There were 258 new COVID-19 cases reported from Sunday, Aug. 16 to Friday, Aug. 21. The age breakdown of the cases during this time period is below:
- 0-9: 4
- 10-19: 44
- 20-24: 119
- 25-29: 11
- 30-34: 15
- 35-39: 3
- 40-44: 16
- 45-49: 12
- 50-54: 10
- 55-59: 6
- 60-64: 3
- 65-69: 4
- 70-74: 5
- 75-79: 2
- 80+: 4
As shown in the age breakdown, a majority of cases recorded in the last week have been among the 20-24 age group. This increase in cases among this age group was expected, as Columbia welcomes back our college student population. Please note that the student population has always been factored into our Boone County population totals. This is a standard practice across the country and we will continue to use this population when calculating all rates on our Information Hub dashboard.
We know there are many people in our Boone County community who are concerned about the increases among the 20-24 age group, particularly regarding how this increase in cases may contribute to operation decisions made by our local elementary and secondary schools. PHHS does not differentiate between students and non students in our data reporting. This is done not only to protect the privacy of individuals, but also to accurately reflect the role of all community members in slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
"While we welcome the students back to our community, we urge them, as well as all of our community members, to continue to follow all safety guidelines including social distancing and mask wearing. We must come together and redouble our efforts to control the spread of COVID-19," PHHS Assistant Director Scott Clardy said.
Although those under 30 continue to have the largest rate of COVID-19 cases in Boone County, we have seen increases in the number of cases for other age groups as well. Between Aug. 12-19 the biggest percentage increase among all ages was within the 40-44 age group with a 22% increase. Those between 30-34 also saw a 19% increase in the number of new cases reported. PHHS will continue to monitor the age distribution of new cases to better understand the spread of virus in the community.
PHHS staff continue to conduct case investigations and contact tracing as quickly as possible, but it is possible that efforts will be delayed several days due to the large increase in cases. We urge all people who test positive or learn that they were a close contact to begin their isolation and quarantine period immediately. More information is available under ‘Health Resources’ on como.gov/coronavirus.
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