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Boone County extends state of emergency over COVID-19 increases

Coronavirus-confirmed healthcare workers can return to work without being testing negative
Posted at 5:00 PM, Jul 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-20 17:00:02-04

LEBANON — The Boone County Commissioners on Monday renewed the state of emergency declaration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The declaration is effective Monday and may expire or be renewed every seven days.

According to the Boone County Health Department, the county has approximately 580 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 50 deaths. New daily cases have increased from an average of 3 to 5 per day during May and June to an average of 9 per day during July.

"Initially, many new cases were attributable to spread in long term care facilities," the health department said in a statement. "More recently, the majority are due to community spread. This is especially concerning due to Boone County schools beginning the new academic year in a matter of weeks."

The declaration will enable county commissioners to designate and set up the Witham Pavilion at the 4-H Fairgrounds as a COVID-19 treatment facility if the need arises. The health department said the declaration enables county officials to respond more efficiently to the COVID-19 situation in the county.

The commissioners and county partners will reconvene every Monday for the time being to determine if a continued declaration is warranted, the health department said.