Area colleges are starting back up after being closed for a few months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Monday, August 17, is the first day at Missouri State University and Missouri Southern State University. Thousands of students will head back to class. And, while Springfield-Greene County Health Department director, Clay Goddard, is satisfied with colleges’ plans to return in a pandemic, he has this message for students.
"We need you to get creative and find ways to spend time with your friends that don't mean big groups of people that are close together," said Goddard. "We need you to have a plan for how you're going to navigate this new normal."
More young people back in town could mean more people in local bars. And Goddard said when people crowd together without masks, it’s the perfect recipe for COVID-19.
There’s currently a regulation in place that requires bars to have no more than 50 percent occupancy.
"We're expecting our establishment managers to abide by that, and we would also hope our college students would wear masks when they're not eating or drinking," said Goddard.
City of Springfield spokesperson, Cora Scott, said they’re working with college students in focus groups to determine the best ways to get messages about masking and social distancing out to young people.
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