The Unified Government of Wyandotte County – Kansas City, Kansas unveiled several new interactive tools on Thursday that let residents track new cases of COVID-19, request food, volunteer, or donate vital goods to help the community.
All of these tools are available on the Unified Government’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage at www.wycokck.org/COVID-19. These tools include:
• A statistical dashboard updated daily that displays the number of confirmed cases, how many COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized, and other relevant data. To access the dashboard, click on the COVID-19 Dashboard tab.
• A food needs request form (click on the Food Needs Request tab). This allows residents to request food if they’re in need, such as residents who are in quarantine or isolation and cannot leave their homes to get food.
• Residents who want to help out can also volunteer for several activities needed during this pandemic or apply to donate items through the site. Just click on the “volunteer and donate” tab on the webpage.
“We’re trying to find ways to help our residents cope with the COVID-19 situation,” Mayor David Alvey said in a news release. “Whether they want information, or need food, or want to contribute to relief efforts by volunteering or donating, we’re dedicated to giving them tools to do that.”
About the dashboard
Other features of the dashboard include a map showing the zip codes with 5 or more confirmed cases, a chart tracking the number of cases day by day, and the total number of deaths caused by COVID-19 in Wyandotte County. The creation of the dashboard was a joint effort between the Unified Government Public Health Department and the Unified Government Knowledge Department.
Requesting needed food
If in need of food, residents can go to www.wycokck.org/COVID-19 and click the Food Needs Request tab. They’ll answer a few simple questions and provide their contact information. Their contact info will not be shared. It will only be used to address the food request The Unified Government Public Health Department is fielding these requests and partnering with Cross-Lines Community Outreach, which will deliver groceries to residents. If residents don’t have internet access, they can call 2-1-1 to request food.
Volunteering or donating
Residents who want to help other community members by volunteering or donating can click the Volunteer or Donate tab on the webpage. This takes them through a short questionnaire that collects information on how to contact them, their availability if they want to volunteer, or gathers information on what they’d like to donate. This information goes to the Unified Government Public Health Department, and residents will be contacted by a project coordinator with further instructions about how they can help.
While these new tools serve a variety of needs within the community during the COVID-19 outbreak, Mayor Alvey stressed that it’s still critically important that everyone continues to comply with the Stay At Home Order issued by Dr. Allen Greiner for Wyandotte County on March 21.
“One of the most effective ways we can slow the spread of COVID-19 is to practice social distancing, and comply with the Stay at Home Order, which instructs citizens to only leave their homes to conduct the business they need for their essential, day to day existence,” Alvey said. “It’s vitally important that our citizens understand what an important role they play in slowing the spread of COVID-19, to avoid overwhelming our healthcare system.”
For more information about these new tools, how to comply with the Stay At Home Order, and other actions the Unified Government is taking to slow the spread of COVID-19, visit www.wycokck.org/COVID-19.
