(COLUMBIA, MO) - Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) Director Stephanie Browning issued Public Health Order 2020-21 and 2020-21(c). These orders go into effect at 12:00 p.m. (noon) on March 24, 2021, and will expire at 11:59 a.m. on April 14, 2021, unless extended, rescinded or modified prior to such expiration.
Below are the modifications to the Order.
- Occupancy limits for large gatherings or events held at businesses have been removed. Social distancing and masking are still required. (The previous order stated 50% or a maximum of 200 people.)
- Occupancy limits for entertainment venues have been removed. Social distancing and masking are still required. (The previous order stated a maximum of 200 people.)
- The limit on group size at bars, restaurants and entertainment venues has been removed. Social distancing between groups or tables is still required. Masks are still required when not seated. (The previous order stated no more than 10 persons per table.)
- At child entertainment facilities and arcades, capacity limits were removed but limiting occupancy is encouraged. (The previous order stated a maximum of 100 children with the total capacity limited to 200 individuals.)
- Childcare, day camps, and other similar providers may operate and are encouraged to limit the number of participants in any single group to a maximum of 50 children. Additional guidelines are still required. (Previously, the maximum of 50 was required.)
- Social distancing at pools should be maintained. (The previous order included language about occupancy limits for pools not monitored by an attendant.)
- Organizers of sports and activities are encouraged to conduct activities in stable groups. Social distancing requirements and face mask requirements must be met for all spectators but limits for the number of spectators have been removed. (The previous order stated stable groups of 50 participants was required and spectators were limited to 50% occupancy or 100 maximum for indoor events and 200 maximum for outdoor events.)
- Public gatherings of more than 250 people need to submit an Operational Plan for approval but social distancing and face masks are still required. (Previously, gatherings were limited to 50 people.)
- All employees who are unable to be vaccinated and are able to work from home should continue to work from home to the greatest extent possible. (The previous order stated that all employees who are able to work from home should continue doing so.)
Boone County continues to see a plateau in the number of COVID-19 infections. As of March 21, the five-day rolling average number of new cases was 17. Additionally, as of March 20, 26.5% of Boone County residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We are glad to see that there haven't been any recent spikes in new positive COVID-19 cases," Browning said. "While many in our community are being vaccinated, not everyone has had the opportunity to be vaccinated yet so we need to continue spread mitigation efforts such as masking and social distancing to keep our community safe and healthy."
PHHS continues to work with local and state health officials to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine. The state of Missouri released last week that those in Phase 2 will become eligible for vaccine on March 29 and Phase 3 will become eligible on April 9. Visit
covidvaccine.mo.gov/priority to view the state's phase and tier priority list. The vaccine is free and can be obtained at many locations in Boone County. Visit
CoMo.gov/CovidVaccine for information about where the vaccine is available.
Updated business and sports guidance will be released by the end of the week. Operational Plans can still be submitted to
[email protected] or
[email protected].
48°F