City of Columbia - Columbia Boone County Health Department Booune County Missouri

1005 W. Worley St.
Columbia, MO 65203

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 10, 2021

CONTACT: Sara Humm
Public Information Specialist
Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services
[email protected]

Public Health and Human Services Director modifies Health Order

(COLUMBIA, MO) - Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) Director Stephanie Browning issued Public Health Order 2020-19 and 2020-19(c). These orders go into effect at noon on Feb. 12, 2021, and are set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on March 4, 2021, unless otherwise extended, rescinded or modified.

All restrictions under the previous health orders remain in effect. There is a modification to the order detailed below.
  • Restaurants and bars serving alcohol and entertainment venues can stay open until midnight. 

"We are making this change to allow our local establishments to serve their customers for a slightly longer period of time while still requiring masks and social distancing," Browning said. "Many of our local businesses have done a great job of following the health orders and we ask them to continue doing so."

The number of positive COVID-19 cases has decreased and the weekly percent increase in total cases has been on the decline for four straight weeks. The 14-day rolling average of new cases is at the lowest it has been since the end of October 2020. Data indicates that college-aged cases are not seeing a back-to-school spike as was seen in August 2020. Hospitalizations of Boone County residents are down and hospitalizations of COVID-19 cases in Boone County hospitals have been on a downward trend since the beginning of December. 

"While we are encouraged by the decline in positive cases, we can't let our guards down," Browning said. "With the new COVID-19 variants, it is still critically important that we continue disease mitigation strategies such as wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding gatherings, regular handwashing and staying home when sick to limit the spread of new infections." 

PHHS continues to work with local and state health officials to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine. The state has approved residents in Phase 1A; Phase 1B, Tier 1 and Phase 1B, Tier 2 to be vaccinated. While vaccine supply remains limited, PHHS, Boone Hospital Center and MU Health Care are working together to distribute vaccine information. The three entities are encouraging residents to fill out the following survey for vaccine information: muhealth.org/form/covid-vaccine-survey. Anyone who has already completed the survey does not need to fill it out again.


City of Columbia Vision
Columbia is the best place for everyone to live, work, learn and play.

City of Columbia Mission
To serve the public equitably through democratic, transparent and efficient government.

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