The Unified Government COVID-19 webpage at 1 p.m. Saturday reported 1,486 cumulative total positive COVID-19 cases and 75 deaths. It was an increase of 33 cases and one death since 1 p.m. Friday.
There were 17 hospitalizations, according to the UG website on Saturday. In addition, there were 500 total recoveries reported.
The UG’s COVID-19 hub showed the seven-day rolling average of positive cases was 22 on June 5 and 21 on June 6. One month ago, on May 6, the rolling average was about double, at 44 cases. On April 6, two months ago, the seven-day rolling average was 18 cases.
Wyandotte County on Monday, June 8, will make the transition to Phase 3 of the Ad Astra state reopening plan. Under that plan, group gatherings are limited to a maximum of 45 people, where social distancing cannot be maintained. Residents should continue to wear masks and stay 6 feet apart when in public. Wyandotte County has some of its own rules added to Phase 3, which is a mandatory health order here. More information on Phase 3 is at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/06052020_WyCoMovestoPhase3_1.pdf.
The University of Kansas Health System on Friday morning reported 13 positive COVID-19 patients, the same as Thursday. There have been some new admissions, according to hospital officials. No COVID-19 patients were in the intensive care unit. All COVID-19 patients were moved to one unit, and two of them remained on ventilators.
KU Health System will now allow one visitor per day per patient, according to Chris Ruder, vice president of patient care services and associate chief nursing officer at the health system. He discussed the visitation policy at a news conference Friday morning. Previously, no visitors were allowed during the past few months.
According to Ruder, patients were limited earlier for the safety of the patients and staff. The policy also helped the hospital save its personal protective equipment. The support of loved ones is vital to patients, and there are safety protocols in place to allow limited visitors, he said. Health system officials will be monitoring the new visitation policy.
Doctors also discussed the emotional and mental toll on the population that is also most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Danielle Johnson, who has a doctorate in psychology, said children have made more calls to suicide hotlines and more of them have made suicide attempts.
Dr. Johnson encouraged parents to have honest, appropriate conversations with their children as often as possible.
Social isolation and limited resources can put a strain on families, she said. Kids may notice that parents are struggling, and parents should let children know that they will get through it.
Dr. Johnson wasn’t particularly concerned about temporarily allowing children to have more screen time, while parents look for safe and creative ways for children to interact with friends.
Some families, she said, have driven by a friend’s house, allowing kids to interact while keeping 6 feet of distance. Others have met friends while on bikes in a parking lot, keeping at least 6 feet away.
Seniors are facing worse social isolation than ever, and she advised people to take care of older relatives as well as children, and themselves. Although seniors in Wyandotte County nursing homes are not able to have visitors yet, Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer of KU Health System, encouraged people to send letters.
Sierra Stites, a Master of Public Health student, said she had seen the effects of social isolation in smaller communities during her work as a case investigator for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The state and local health departments have resources for help for residents, she said. Also, Sierra Stites said she has seen COVID-19 from a unique perspective from her background as a biracial child. With a population that has traditionally had difficulty being seen and heard, the pandemic has made the problem worse, according to Sierra.
Dr. Steve Stites advised people to try to see the world through others’ eyes instead of just through their own eyes. Everyone has a unique point of view that needs to be acknowledged, according to Dr. Stites. He said he thought society has changed because of the pandemic and hoped people’s thoughts about exclusion also were changing.
The KU doctors’ news conference is online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/.
The UG’s COVID-19 information page is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
Wyandotte County is currently under the state’s Phase 2 plan and will change to Phase 3 on Monday. See covid.ks.gov.
The state plan’s frequently asked questions page is at https://covid.ks.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Reopening-FAQ_5.19.2020_Final.pdf.
Test sites are listed at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.
The CDC’s COVID-19 web page is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.