The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools have officially started a district COVID testing program.
Dr. Anna Stubblefield, superintendent, reported at the Tuesday night school board meeting that employees officially started COVID testing on Monday. Students returned to school from the winter break on Jan. 4.
The COVID tests are required for district employees who have not been fully vaccinated.
COVID case numbers have been spiking in Wyandotte County over the past week, and on Tuesday, the Health Department reported 478 new COVID cases since Monday.
Dr. Stubblefield said 70 percent of the school district’s employees have uploaded proof of vaccination. Volunteers also are required to have vaccinations or be tested.
The district’s testing providers currently offer a PCR test, but they have no access to a saliva COVID test until Feb. 1, as there is a nationwide shortage of tests, she said.
“We are asking those who need a test to be patient and work with us,” Dr. Stubblefield said. “We are working to find alternatives in the meantime.”
They also are asking staff, students and the community to show some grace with one another as things change, she said.
All staff and families have now received updated CDC guidance on changes in quarantine and isolation periods, she said.
On Tuesday night, the school board did not consider any changes to its testing policy or to its masking policy. Board policy requires a mask to be worn at all times on district property, Dr. Stubblefield said.
There are masks available for all staff members and students if they don’t have them, she said. Dr. Stubblefield also said the Unified Government Health Department has donated 24,000 KN95 masks to the school district, and the masks are available to staff use. They are not the correct size for students, and are not available to students, she added.
Dr. Stubblefield said they have had several questions about why the school district has not gone back to remote learning. She said remote learning is limited to 40 hours, according to a law passed by the Kansas Legislature. No district can provide more than 40 hours of remote learning for any student, unless there are extraordinary circumstances such as illness where they cannot attend in person, she said.
The school district has partnered with the Health Department and the Royals to “Strike Out Covid,” holding vaccination events at local schools.
One event was held on Monday at Grant Elementary School, where 116 children ages 5 to 11 received a first dose of the vaccine, and 57 a second dose, for a total of 173 vaccinations on Monday, she said.
The next vaccination event will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, at Gloria Willis Middle School, 1735 N. 64th Terrace, Kansas City, Kansas. The vaccinations will be for ages 5 to 11. Food trucks and giveaways will be available, while supplies last, for those who receive their first or second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Parents or guardians must be present.
Dr. Stubblefield said that so far, more than 1,000 individuals have received vaccinations through the district’s partnership with the Health Department.
The school board did not consider any changes to the COVID testing or masking policy at the Tuesday night meeting. The board did hear a community comment from David Seume asking the board to end the mask mandate in schools. He said mask-wearing is causing damage to students. He also said Mayor Tyrone Garner and the Unified Government Commission repealed the mask mandate in the community last month, so the KCK school board should address the mask mandate for students.
More vaccines and tests available
Free COVID tests and vaccines are available from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12, at Oak Ridge Baptist Church, 9301 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas. The tests are through Vibrant Health. Appointments are not required.
The Unified Government’s Kmart facility at 7836 State is on a new schedule, and is open for testing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
The Kmart facility is open for free vaccines from noon to 6 p.m. on Fridays. Walk-ins are welcome. For more information, see WycoVaccines.org.
Free COVID vaccines also are available by appointment only at the Health Department building at 6th and Ann Avenue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Free COVID testing also is available from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the Kansas National Guard Armory, 18th and Ridge.
There also are vaccines and tests available at mobile events.
The vaccines.gov website shows some other vaccination sites open in Wyandotte County.
COVID case numbers
On Tuesday, the University of Kansas Health System reported 119 active COVID inpatients, the same as Monday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control. Only 13 of the current 119 COVID inpatients are fully vaccinated. Two patients died since Monday, and the number of deaths in the first 10 days of January was 15. There were 23 COVID patients in the intensive care unit, an increase of five since Monday. Sixteen patients were on ventilators, an increase of three from Monday. Another 45 patients were hospitalized because of COVID but were out of the acute infection phase, an increase of two since Monday. There was a total of 164 COVID patients at the hospital, an increase of two from Monday.
On Tuesday, the Unified Government Health Department COVID information website reported 31,575 total cumulative COVID cases, an increase of 478 cases since Monday, and a cumulative total of 421 deaths, the same as Monday.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s COVID information dashboard on Tuesday reported 228 daily new hospitalizations in the nine-county Kansas City area. There were 6,482 newly reported cases, and 18 newly reported deaths.