Month: April 2020

Positive COVID-19 numbers in Wyandotte County declined slightly with new definition from state

Wyandotte County reported 426 positive COVID-19 cases, with 44 deaths, at 8:25 a.m. Tuesday. (UG COVID-19 webpage)

by Mary Rupert

The positive COVID-19 cases in Wyandotte County declined slightly over the weekend as the Unified Government Health Department adjusted the numbers to account for a change in the way that they are defining confirmed cases.

The positive cases in Wyandotte County went down slightly from Friday to Saturday, according to the UG COVID-19 page. At 10:15 a.m. Friday, April 17, the total was 395 positive cases. That changed to 381 positive cases at 1:20 p.m. Saturday, April 18.

By Monday, the number of positive cases in Wyandotte County had risen again to 426, remaining at 426 at 8:25 a.m. Tuesday, according to the UG’s COVID-19 webpage.

According to Janell Friesen, a spokesman for the UG Health Department, the reason for the decline over the weekend was a different way of counting cases.

“Due to new criteria from KDHE, we had to change who was being included in the confirmed cases counter,” Friesen stated. “Prior to the release of KDHE’s new probable case definition, all cases we were tracking as positive cases were included in that number. On Friday we learned that some of the cases were ‘probable cases’ under the new definition. The cases identified as probable were taken out of the confirmed cases number.”

The cases being investigated are all assigned a status in the Health Department’s reporting system, and only the cases designated as “confirmed” or “probable” will appear on the dashboard, Friesen stated. “It appears that on Friday and Saturday a few cases may have had the status field missing; this may explain the rest of the discrepancy. The missing status fields have since been corrected,” she stated.

There also was another difference more recently, with the state reporting 427 cases and the UG reporting 426 cases in Wyandotte County on Monday. The UG Health Department staff found out that one case was actually a Missouri resident, so it should not be included in the Wyandotte County numbers, Friesen stated.

Positive case numbers declined by about 14 from Friday morning, left, to Saturday afternoon, right, in Wyandotte County because of a change in the way they are defining confirmed cases. (From UG COVID-19 page)

Today’s weather: Sunny, high near 71

Temperatures will reach 71 degrees today in Wyandotte County. (Photo by Mary Rupert)

Tuesday’s weather will see a high of 71 degrees, with sunny skies, according to the National Weather Service.

Showers will be back in the forecast on Wednesday afternoon and night, the weather service said.

Rain will be possible throughout the area on Wednesday and Wednesday night, but along and south of I-70, there will be higher chances of rain and higher rainfall totals, according to the weather service.

More showers are possible Thursday night through Friday night.

Today, it will be sunny with a high near 71 and a northeast wind of 6 mph becoming calm in the afternoon, the weather service said.

Tonight, the low will be around 52 with a south southeast wind of 5 to 8 mph, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, there is a 60 percent chance of showers before 1 p.m., then rain likely after 1 p.m., the weather service said. The high will be near 65 with a south wind of 7 to 9 mph, gusting as high as 18 mph. Between a tenth and quarter-inch of rain is possible.


Wednesday night, there is a 30 percent chance of rain before 1 a.m., then a low around 49, according to the weather service. An east southeast wind of 5 to 7 mph will become calm in the evening. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter-inch are possible.

Thursday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 74 and a north northwest wind of 3 to 5 mph, the weather service said.

Thursday night, there is a slight chance of rain before 10 p.m., then a chance of showers between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m., according to the weather service. The low will be around 53. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain is possible.

Friday, there is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high near 68, the weather service said.

Friday night, there is a 30 percent chance of showers before 1 a.m., with a low of 48, according to the weather service.

Saturday, it will be partly sunny, with a high of 62, the weather service said.

Saturday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 44, according to the weather service.

Sunday, it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 66, the weather service said.

Sunday night, it will be partly cloudy, with a low of 47, according to the weather service.

Monday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 70, the weather service said.

Death toll now at 24 at Riverbend facility in KCK

Graphic from UG Health Department

The death toll has risen to 24 at the Riverbend Post-Acute Rehabilitation facility at 78th and Freeman in Kansas City, Kansas, according to information posted on the Unified Government Health Department social media site.

The number of deaths was more than half the Wyandotte County total of 44 as of late Monday, according to UG Health Department figures.

According to the Health Department update, 92 residents tested positive, 24 staff tested positive, and eight residents were in the hospital.

“In response to Riverbend and the other nursing home outbreaks across the country, we are forming a local Long Term Care Facility Task Force,” the UG Health Department stated on social media. “Additionally, we are working with area partners to draft new guidelines for long-term care facilities.”

The Health Department today started additional testing at a parking lot at 8th and Vermont in Kansas City, Kansas, according to a UG Health Department spokesman.

This first pop-up testing site was done in partnership with All Saints Parish, Vibrant Health, and the recently formed Health Equity Task Force. The Health Equity Task Force is currently determining future locations and times for pop-up sites to best meet community testing needs, a spokesman stated.

Also, testing continues at the UG Health Department parking lot at 619 Ann Ave., where testing was expanded from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Testing at the Health Department is drive-up or walk-up now, with no appointment required. Those who can be tested are Wyandotte County residents who have experienced COVID-19 symptoms in the last 48 hours, according to the spokesman.

Those who prefer to set up an appointment for the Health Department testing may call 3-1-1 or report their symptoms at www.wycokck.org/COVID-19, and someone from the Health Department will follow up with them about a testing appointment, the spokesman stated.

The spokesman stated that the case numbers are changing rapidly in Wyandotte County because of the spread of COVID-19 and also because of more testing here.