Month: September 2020

KDHE releases COVID-19 outbreak locations

Wyandotte County reported an additional 34 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, for a cumulative total of 6,653, according to . There were no additional deaths reported; the cumulative total is 134. (From UG COVID-19 website)
A map on the UG COVID-19 resource hub showed the locations of COVID-19 outbreaks in Wyandotte County. Active locations with five or more cases, which had a case within the past 28 days, were included. (From UG COVID-19 resource hub)

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment released locations of COVID-19 outbreaks today.

Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, said in a news conference that KDHE revised the criteria for releasing the outbreak locations and names.

Originally it had included older cases in the outbreaks, but after the KDHE received feedback, it was decided to include only outbreaks with at least five cases in the past two weeks, according to Dr. Norman.

The state’s outbreak list is updated every week.

Today’s KDHE outbreak list does not include any Wyandotte County locations. There were four Johnson County locations on the list, including three long-term care facilities and one health care facility. The KDHE outbreak list is at www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas.

Dr. Norman said the reasons for releasing the location names and places was for transparency and they had had a lot of requests from residents about the locations; and also to empower Kansans to be more proactive about assessing their own risks.

The Wyandotte County Health Department has been releasing the names and locations of outbreaks here for some months. The outbreak map is at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/.

Wyandotte County releases the names and locations of outbreaks that have had five or more cases, and have had an active case within the past 28 days.

The Wyandotte County list, on the UG’s COVID-19 hub page, includes these outbreaks:

Medicalodge of Kansas City, 6500 Greeley, 55 total cases, last known case reported Sept. 4.

Kaw River Care and Rehab, 750 Blake St., Edwardsville, 19 cases, last known case reported Sept. 11.

Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office, 710 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas, 13 cases, last known case reported Sept. 8.

UPS, 223 N. James St., Kansas City, Kansas, 9 cases, last known case reported Sept. 11.

Empire Candle, 2925 Fairfax Trafficway, Kansas City, Kansas, 5 total cases, last known case reported Sept. 4.

Community First Bank, 650 Kansas Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, 6 cases last known case reported Sept. 3.

Moose Lodge, 6621 Turner Drive, Kansas City, Kansas, 6 cases, last known case reported Sept. 1.

Case numbers

Kansas reported an additional 1,267 cases from Monday to Wednesday, according to Dr. Norman. There is a cumulative total of 5,226 cases. There were an additional 21 deaths reported. Nine of the deaths were attributed to reconciling the numbers with vital statistics records, he added. There is a cumulative total of 621 deaths.

Wyandotte County reported an additional 34 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, for a cumulative total of 6,653, according to . There were no additional deaths reported; the cumulative total is 134.

In the KDHE gating criteria, Wyandotte County had a two-week percent positivity rate of 8.93 percent on Wednesday. The 10 to 17 age group in Wyandotte County had a percent positivity rate of 15.25 percent on Wednesday, according to the KDHE statistics.

The University of Kansas Health System reported 26 COVID-19 patients on Wednesday morning, an increase from 24 on Tuesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Nine of them were in the intensive care unit, an increase from seven on Tuesday. Also, three were on the ventilator, no change from Tuesday. In addition, there were 21 COVID-19 patients who are not in the acute infection phase now, a decrease from 24 on Tuesday. At Hays Medical Center, there were 16 inpatients with 14 acute and two recovering but not infectious.

At the doctors’ news conference, Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, said the virus is spreading more in smaller communities now.

Dr. David Lisbon, emergency medicine physician at KU Health System, talked about the different waves of COVID-19.

In the fourth wave, which is happening now, social consequences of the pandemic include psychic trauma, mental issues, economic injury and burnout, according to Dr. Lisbon.

According to Dr. Lisbon, essential and front-line workers have seen more exposure to the virus and are finding it more difficult.

The emergency department has returned to normal operations as people realize it’s safe, he said.

The simple public health measures such as washing hands, wearing a mask and social distancing work, and people should remain hopeful, he said. He was hopeful that there will be a scientific solution to COVID-19.

Free testing continues Thursday

Free pop-up COVID-19 testing continues from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at Faith Deliverance Family Worship Center, 3043 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.

Another pop-up COVID-19 testing site will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Vibrant Health Argentine location, 1428 S. 32nd St., Kansas City, Kansas.

The test at Faith Deliverance is through the Health Equity Task Force and Swope Health. The test at Vibrant Health is through the Wyandotte County Health Equity Task Force and Vibrant Health.

Free testing also will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Health Department parking lot, 619 Ann Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. People should bring an item such as a piece of mail or a work badge to show they live or work in Wyandotte County.

The pop-up tests and the Health Department tests now are open to asymptomatic people as well as those who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19. Check with the UG Health Department’s Facebook page to see if there have been any changes in the schedule.

More information about testing is at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19, or call 311.

The KDHE news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/KDHEnews/videos/764889104292142.

The KU doctors’ news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/880498549144189.

The UG COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.

The Unified Government COVID-19 hub outbreak map at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/.

To see an NEA list of schools that have had COVID-19 cases, visit https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=aa3f2ede7cb2415db943fdaf45866d2f.

The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at https://marc2.org/covidhub/.

The Unified Government Health Department is 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 UG Health Department school and sports guidance is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/09042020fallsportsrecommendations.pdf.

A previous UG 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 KDHE’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/.

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

KCK student receives degree

Naomi Sabatta of Kansas City, Kansas, has received the Master of Science degree in Education from Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

The degree was one of 270 degrees awarded at a virtual conferral ceremony held on Sept. 12.

A commencement ceremony is planned in May 2021, dependent on health guidance.

Wilkes University is a private, independent institution founded in 1933.

Governor directs voter registration effort

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is leading a voter registration effort in Kansas.

Under Gov. Kelly, the Kansas Department for Children and Families and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment have been sending out voter registration applications and information to potential voters in Kansas. It is an effort to comply with federal law.

Oct. 13 is the deadline to register to vote in Kansas.

Last November, Demos, Loud Light, the ACLU, and the ACLU of Kansas completed an investigation of compliance with the National Voter Registration Act in Kansas and notified Gov. Kelly and other state officials of areas to improve to ensure the state’s compliance with the NVRA, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

DCF and KDHE have been working on meaningful improvements to agency-provided voter registration opportunities and assistance to clients filling out voter registration applications.

Among other improvements, DCF and KDHE upgraded and will continue to improve their online application portals to provide their clients with better assistance with voter registration.

Although some of the technology upgrades will take time to implement, DCF and KDHE have mailed voter registration applications to clients to ensure that they receive opportunities to register to vote before the November general election.

This process has already provided many Kansas residents with an opportunity to register to vote or update their registration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between March and September 2020, DCF mailed voter registration applications to nearly 151,00 clients. KDHE will send voter registration applications to 127,000 client households in September.

“As we weather this pandemic, with many individuals quarantined at home and practicing social distancing, it is important we provide this service to Kansans,” Gov. Laura Kelly said. “I am committed to making sure eligible Kansas voters are not left behind.”

Gov. Kelly encouraged all eligible Kansas residents to register to vote. Kansans who receive a voter registration application in the mail are encouraged to complete the application to register to vote (or update an existing registration) as quickly as possible to ensure it reaches their county’s election office ahead of the Oct. 13 deadline to register. Eligible Kansans may also register to vote online at https://www.kdor.ks.gov/apps/voterreg/default.aspx; a Kansas driver’s license or state identification card are required to register to vote on the Kansas registration page. Eligible Kansans can also register in minutes at KSVotes.org. To vote in the general presidential election this year, Kansas residents must be registered to vote by Oct. 13.

The governor also encouraged every registered voter to vote by mail. Any registered voter in Kansas can vote by mail. The application for a mail-in ballot can be found at https://www.kssos.org/forms/elections/AV1.pdf.

Applications for a mail ballot must be returned by Oct. 27, to the county election office. Ballots will be mailed to those who apply beginning on Oct. 14. All ballots must be postmarked on or before Nov. 3 and received in the county election office by the close of business on Nov. 6.

The Kansas GOP issued a statement in response that www.ksvotes.org was not an official state website, and it receives personal information from people who register there, unlike the official Kansas site to register to vote, at https://www.kdor.ks.gov/Apps/VoterReg/Default.aspx.