Month: November 2020

A glance at the COVID-19 numbers in the area

The Greater Kansas City Region, which includes a nine-county area, reported a seven-day average of 708 additional daily cases on Saturday, according to the Mid-America Regional Council’s Kansas City Region COVID-19 Resource Hub.

The rate of new cases is declining slightly, according to the resource hub. The cumulative number of cases in the nine-county area was 87,430.

One additional COVID-19 death was reported, for a total of 1,073. The seven-day average of deaths per day was 5.

The daily average of new COVID-19 hospitalizations was 157 in the nine-county area. The weekly average of new COVID-19 hospitalizations in the nine-county area was 943.

The average daily number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital is 722 in the nine-county area. The number of those on ventilators is 111, which is trending up, according to the KC egion COVID-19 data page. There was an average daily number of 193 patients in the intensive care units in the nine-county area.

The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard reported a total of 13,244,417 COVID-19 cases in the United States on Saturday. There were a cumulative 266,047 deaths.

A chart on the Johns Hopkins website showed that Kansas has been experiencing a spike in cases. (See https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/new-cases-50-states)

At a news conference on Wednesday, Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, said herd immunity was not a good idea. Herd immunity involves 80 to 90 percent of the population, and only about 4.9 percent of the Kansas population has had the disease and may be immune to it, he said. Doctors are concerned that more COVID-19 cases will overwhelm the hospitals and not leave enough room for other patients.

He said vaccines will be able to provide immunity to individuals, and until they are ready, masks will continue to be important.

Kansas has a vaccine plan that has been approved by the CDC, and the state now is working on the details of when and where the vaccines will be available, he said.

COVID-19 testing available Monday

Free COVID-19 testing by the UG Health Department will be available on Monday, Nov. 30. For more information, visit https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.

For more information about the testing site at the former Kmart location, visit https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/10092020_newtestingsitewyco.pdf.

The new Wyandotte County health order with a limit of 10 persons to a gathering, and a closing time of 10 p.m. for restaurants and bars, with other new restrictions, is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/11162020localhealthorderexecuted.pdf.

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

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

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

The Wyandotte County page on the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 website is at https://bao.arcgis.com/covid-19/jhu/county/20209.html.

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

Faith news

Wyandotte County is in Phase 3 under Kansas Ad Astra reopening plan. Local health officials said under Phase 3, people should keep a distance of 6 feet between themselves and others. They may sit closer to people who live in their households. Also, people should wear masks and should wash hands or use hand sanitizer. There is a mask order in effect in Wyandotte County, requiring masks to be worn inside any public space.


Some faith groups are holding online or video services. In Wyandotte County, those who are older than 60 or who have other medical conditions should continue being very cautious, according to the Wyandotte County health officials. Those who are sick should stay home, according to officials.


More details about Wyandotte County health guidelines for churches are at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/COVID-19GuidelinesForChurches.pdf.

Some churches have been changing their services as a result of new COVID-19 restrictions for the community. Residents are advised to visit the social media page of their church or faith organization, or to call them or email them, to see changes that have been made to regular schedules, or if there are video services planned on Sunday.


The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has information about churches reopening, Masses, and reflections, at https://www.facebook.com/archkck.

Blessed Sacrament, Christ the King and Our Lady and St. Rose Catholic churches have resumed in-person Masses. For more information, visit the churches’ websites or Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/Christ-the-King-Parish-KCKS-1392808997677579, https://www.facebook.com/BlessedSacramentkck, and https://www.facebook.com/ourladyandsaintrose/. Mass is online at https://www.facebook.com/BlessedSacramentkck.


Casa – Worship House Christian Church, 5217 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas, has an online service at www.facebook.com/casadealabanzaKCKS. Check with the church’s social media page for information on services. For more information, visit Facebook @casadealabanzaKCKS.


Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace, Kansas City, Kansas, will have services in person with social distancing at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 29. There will be a livestream service at https://www.facebook.com/opendoorkc/ and https://www.opendoorkc.com/.


Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kansas, plans to livestream at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 29, on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StonyPointChristianChurch, and people are welcome to attend the service in person, using social distancing and other health measures.


St. Patrick Catholic Church, Kansas City, Kansas, has a Mass online for Sunday, Nov. 29, at https://www.facebook.com/StPatrickKCK. St. Patrick Church also has in-person Masses.


St. Paul’s Episcopal, 1300 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will livestream services at 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 29. See st.paulskck.org and https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsKCK.


Sunset Hills Christian Church, 6347 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas, plans to have services at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. For more information about this Sunday’s plans, visit the Facebook page of Pastor Mike Barnett, https://www.facebook.com/mike.barnett.528. Services are also provided through checkout of DVD or SD Card and can be sent by email upon request. People are welcome to attend the service in person using social distancing and other health measures. Masks are available or bring your own to wear.


Wyandotte United Methodist Church, 7901 Oakland Ave., will have a livestreamed service Sunday, Nov. 29, on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Wyandotteumc/ or online on the website at www.wyandotteumc.com.


Information about other church services in Wyandotte County may be available from the church’s social media page.
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