SPRINGFIELD, Missouri (KY3) – As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, state and local health officials are discovering that younger people are diagnosed with coronavirus.
Springfield and Greene County are following what has recently become a trend in the state and across the country. More and more young people are showing up with the coronavirus.
Randall Williams, Missouri director of Health and Senior Services, said at a news conference Thursday that he was not surprised.
“I think especially for young people, often young people in their 20s and 30s, it is really tempting to go out and socialize and congregate,” Williams said.
CoxHealth infectious disease doctor Robin Trotman said at a live Facebook event on Wednesday that he checks Springfield COVID-19 lab data daily and sees the difference first-hand.
“It’s amazing how birthdays have changed over the past month, all in the 2000s and late 1990s,” said Dr. Trotman.
While Dr. Trotman said that younger people may be more comfortable being in public right now, they should understand that they are coming into contact with more people than they think.
“Other people in the bar are likely to have been in other bars, so you can see that it is very different from having been in close contact with someone who has been quarantined,” he said. “All those people in that high-risk situation have high-risk cumulative behavior.”
Springfield-Greene County Health Director Clay Goddard said that before local officials feel comfortable moving forward with a final phase of reopening, they will consider the statewide data.
“Many times we are tempted to look at the Greene County data and that may be a myopic view,” said Goddard.
He said that if you plan to travel, visit a restaurant or bar, you should still be aware of the pandemic and follow the safety advice they have reiterated.
“This is based on that component of physical distancing, it is based on common sense sanitation approaches, it is built … when other situations cannot be taken into account,” Goddard said.
Springfield remains in Phase 3 of the Road to Recovery order.
Going forward, Mayor McClure says we could see a possible mask ordinance instead.
Click HERE to read more about that decision.
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