Month: August 2020

Some information changing about children and COVID-19

Doctors  at the University of Kansas Health System answered questions on Friday morning about topics including children and COVID-19, as some areas are getting ready to start school.

In Wyandotte County, most students don’t start school until after Labor Day, and the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools will be in remote classes for the first nine weeks.

Dr. David Wild, vice president of performance improvement at KU Health System, said he had five or six calls last weekend from families, including children, who were having allergy symptoms. They were tested and about half had COVID-19. It’s possible some of the milder symptoms such as runny nose, cough and fever should be signs that indicate testing is warranted.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, director of medical prevention and control at KU Health, said only about half of children COVID-19 patients in a study had fever and 20 percent had a runny nose.

“It is different from what we are used to,” he said.

It may present differently in children than in adults, he said.

Children may not have a fever, he said, but may still have COVID-19. They may have mild symptoms or none at all and still be able to spread COVID-19, he said.

“If school happens, your bubble is going to be expanded,” Dr. Hawkinson said.

The adults need to maintain as strict a bubble as possible especially if they have family members who are vulnerable.

“Going out and being in large groups, and going to parties, that is not a safe way to expand the bubble,” Dr. Hawkinson said.

People should understand who they will see, groups of 10 or less are better, outdoors, separated and masking is important, he said. If children going to school in person or are in sports or extracurricular activities, their families’ bubble will expand, also, he said.

They should continue to monitor symptoms of others they know, and then figure out if they were in contact with that person, he added.

“Your bubble expands to be the bubble of your children, if they live with you,” Dr. Wild said.

KU Health Systm reported 27 COVID-19 patients at the health system on Friday morning, compared to 26 on Thursday. Eight patients were in the intensive care unit and five were on ventilators. There were nine in the ICU on Thursday and seven on ventilators on Thursday.

According to the Unified Government COVID-19 website, there were a cumulative total of 111 deaths, an increase of two reported since Thursday.

Free testing offered

Heart to Heart International and the University of Kansas Medical Center are offering free testing events for people who are asymptomatic and essential workers. This is tied to a research study. They will be testing from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 22, at La Fe en Jesucristo, 1500 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.

For more information, visit hearttoheart.org/covid19testing.

The Unified Government Health Department is now collecting input on people’s experiences getting tested for COVID-19 in Wyandotte County. The survey is on the UG website at https://us.openforms.com/Form/ea97a450-3d74-4d86-8d1f-6e340d55cf7c.

The KU doctors’ news conference is online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/3464134200305460.

The UG Health Department sports order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/08132020localhealthofficerorderregardingsports.pdf.

The Wyandotte County school start order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.

Wyandotte County is under a mandatory mask order and is in Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan. For more information, residents may visit the UG COVID-19 website at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information or call 311 for more information.

The CDC’s COVID-19 web page is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

Should you use an unsolicited mail ballot application?

Some residents are receiving unsolicited mail ballot applications from outside organizations this week.
A letter was included with one of the applications received here. The voter’s name has been deleted in this picture.
The ballot application came from an address in Springfield, Missouri.

If an unsolicited mail ballot application arrives in the mail, should you use it?

A reader recently contacted the Wyandotte Daily to ask about a mail-in ballot application she received from a third party, not from the Wyandotte County Election Office.

The applications sent out this week are from a national organization that is trying to get out the vote for the November elections. This particular effort was targeted at getting women and minorities to vote in the upcoming elections, and one of the organizations related to this effort thinks increasing turnout among these groups will be the key to winning the fall elections.

For the general election, Wyandotte County will offer advance voting in person, advance voting by mail and Election Day voting in person.

Wyandotte County Election Commissioner Bruce Newby responded to our questions that the third-party ballot applications could be terribly confusing to some voters, especially those who are permanent advance voters and those who have already applied for a ballot by mail.

“This application form was sent by an organization that has no official connection to any election office in Kansas,” Newby wrote. “The Secretary of State is aware of this outside effort. The (Kansas) Secretary of State’s office approved the application form AV1 but does not have the authority to control the content of any accompanying letter or to whom these are sent.

“Voters can expect many such mailings from others in the coming weeks, including the political parties, major candidates and others,” Newby stated.

“This one comes from outside Kansas,” Newby wrote. “It is sent indiscriminately to all voters, including many who have already requested a mail ballot as well as permanent advance voters who will automatically receive a mail ballot. In some instances, other organizations have given voters the wrong county election office address.

“Some will ask voters to return their application to the organization on the premise that the organization will forward it to the correct election office,” he wrote. “Voters who send their application back to the sending organization need to be aware that the personal information they provide could be used by that organization for other purposes. Further, the voter has no guarantee that the Election Office will ever get their application.”

Newby had several recommendations for voters:

• Go online to print the Form AV1 on the Election Office website, www.wycovotes.org. Voters can fill it out online but must print and sign it before they mail, email, or FAX it to the Wyandotte County Election Office.
• Registered voter households will receive official mail from the Election Office mid-September that will include three copies of the official Form AV1.
• Send us only one application per voter. Please, do not send duplicate by-mail applications to us.
• Never send a completed application for a ballot by-mail anywhere other than the Election Office.
• Use forms sent by anyone other than your election office with caution. To whom are you providing your personal information? What are they using it for?

More about this mailing

The reader who contacted us received a mail ballot application form from the Center for Voting Information, Washington, D.C. The sender’s address on the mail was from Springfield, Missouri. The application form was already filled out with the voter’s name and address, but not with the signature or driver’s license number.

There was a letter also with the mail ballot application. The letter did not contain any references to political parties or candidates, and did not discuss any political positions.

Included with the application form and letter was a return envelope to the Wyandotte County Election Commissioner’s office and address, and with the voter’s name and address on the sender’s return address. It was a postage-paid envelope.

The Center for Voting Information, according to its website, is “a non-partisan and non-profit organization that works to provide even-handed and unbiased information about candidates and their positions on issues. We also provide voting-eligible citizens with tools and resources to register and vote in upcoming elections.”

The website stated that CVI and Voter Participation Center generated 939,000 registration applications for the 2020 election, and more than 2 million vote by mail applications for 2020.

According to the website, they also do polling and have seen a noticeable upsurge of support from minorities for the Joe Biden campaign after the announcement of Kamala Harris as the vice presidential nominee.

In a Federal Election Commission document, CVI stated it was formerly known as “Women’s Voices, Women’s Vote Action Fund,” and changed its name in 2017. The organization targeted women, millennials and minorities in an effort to raise wages and address economic and other issues, according to the website.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, opensecrets.org, the Center for Voting Information has a political action committee.

CVI did not report any contributions this year, but it reported an independent expenditure of $38,481, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Vendors and recipients included the Pivot Group and Grow Progress.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the $34,481 was an independent expenditure for support of the Joe Biden for President campaign – it was not by the Biden campaign itself. CVI had supported some other Democratic candidates in other areas in past years.

For more information on voting, visit www.wycovotes.org or call the Election Office at 913-573-8500 during office hours.

Piper to resume sports under guidelines

After hearing from several Piper parents who wanted their kids to play sports, the Piper school board on Thursday night decided to let them play.

The school district will offer the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities and sports during the fall semester, following the guidelines of the Kansas State High School Activities Association, the Wyandotte County Health Department, Frontier League and the school administration’s plan.

No competition in football, volleyball, soccer or band will take place in Wyandotte County, following the health department guidelines, according to the board.

“Please let us play, give us an opportunity,” one parent said during the public comment portion of the meeting.

Another parent said it was fine if some people want to opt out, but he favored letting kids play sports who wanted to play sports.

The in-person meeting was held at Piper High School auditorium and was also livestreamed. People were socially distancing in the auditorium.

Piper has a “Fall 2020 Piper Returning to School Activities Plan.”

According to Piper administrators at the meeting, the school district surveyed more than 500 parents and community members. Seven percent were undecided, 24 percent were uncomfortable returning to sports and 79 percent were comfortable returning to sports and activities, according to administrators.

A survey of 33 coaches and administrators found that 45 percent were uncomfortable and 45 percent were comfortable in returning to sports and activities, according to administrators.

To view the Piper school board meeting, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwsybUuDb70.