Category: COVID-19

Guide offered for a safe Fourth of July weekend

As Kansans prepare for the Fourth of July weekend, KDHE has put together a guide to help you have a safe, healthy Independence Day.

“The COVID-19 virus is still very much in our communities and taking basic public health steps will help keep Kansans safe and Kansas open for business,” Gov. Laura Kelly said.

The guidance below comes from Gov. Laura Kelly’s Ad Astra Reopening Plan and reflects the state’s current recommendation to counties to remain in Phase 3 of the plan. Local units of government have full discretion to impose additional or less stringent requirements on activities, businesses, and venues. Individuals should always consult with their local units of government for any additional questions and comply with local restrictions.

Independence Day and the Ad Astra COVID-19 reopening plan

July 4th recommendations from the Ad Astra Plan:

• Wear a mask, especially when 6-foot social distancing cannot be maintained.

• Limit gatherings in your home with 45 or fewer individuals, not including those you live with. Stick to outdoor events whenever possible.

• Sharing isn’t caring. Disinfect surfaces and use disposable or single serve items as much as possible.

• Maintain mass gathering limits and social distancing at pool parties, restaurants, parks or other social venues.

• If you are sick, stay home and contact your doctor.

• For travel, follow KDHE travel and quarantine guidelines and avoid high-risk travel areas. See KDHE’s website for more details.

Public health guidance for individuals and families celebrating Independence Day
• General health tips
o If you are sick, stay home and contact your doctor.
o Continue social distancing whenever possible. The best way to protect yourself and others is to keep 6 feet from others (except for those you live with) especially if you have a medical condition that puts you in a high-risk category.
o Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water is not available, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
o Cover coughs and sneezes into an elbow or tissue. Throw the used tissue away and immediately wash your hands.
o Masks are strongly encouraged, especially in places where social distancing is difficult to maintain.
o If you or a loved one is considered high-risk, stay home and avoid parties or gatherings.

• Tips for parties, gatherings, and get-togethers:
o Socially distance whenever you can. Avoid any instances in which groups of 45 or more people are gathered together and can’t maintain 6 feet.
o Given that social distancing is still practiced, outdoor activities are strongly encouraged over indoor activities. If engaging in indoor activities, practice strict social distancing and maintain ventilation throughout your home by opening doors or windows.
o Make sure you have soap, paper towels, disinfecting supplies, and other important cleaning materials ready.
o Clean high-touch surfaces like tables, door knobs, faucets, etc.
o Have paper towels, hand sanitizer, and other cleaning items ready in your bathroom for use.
o To protect their health, high-risk individuals should not attend social gatherings in-person. If the gathering is occurring in a home with a high-risk individual, those individuals should not interact face-to-face with guests. They should join via video chat or other virtual means.
o Make sure that anyone who is handling food wears gloves. Friends and family should be consistently washing hands.

o Food and Drink Tips
 Avoid punchbowls or other communal drink stations. Use individual packaged drinks and chips.
 Use disposable plates and utensils if unable to constantly clean dishes.
 Avoid buffets or other self-service food stations. Have individuals with gloves and masks serve food.
 If guests are bringing dishes, request that they bring them covered.
 Avoid single source drink containers, like kegs or pitchers.
 Avoid single source food spreads like, chips and dip.

• Heat safety tips
 Avoid extreme temperature changes.
 Stay hydrated, drink plenty of fluids. Avoid drinks with caffeine or alcohol. Wear loose-fitting, lightweight, light-colored clothing. Avoid dark colors as they absorb the sun’s rays.
 Slow down, stay indoors. Avoid strenuous exercise during the hottest part of the day. Postpone outdoor games and activities.
 Never leave children or pets in your vehicle. The inside temperature of the car can quickly reach 120 degrees.

• Fireworks tips
o The Kansas Office of the Fire Marshal has provided the following fireworks tips for families:
 Always ignite outdoors
 Have an adult supervise all fireworks activities
 Have a water supply nearby
 Light from a solid, flat and stable platform
 Light only one firework at a time
 Make sure fireworks debris is cooled off completely before disposing
 Never re-ignite malfunctioning fireworks
 Store fireworks in a cool, dry place
 Use a long-handled lighter

o Bottle rockets and M80s are illegal in Kansas and extremely dangerous. The use or sale of these banned fireworks is considered a crime under Kansas law. It is also illegal in Kansas to shoot fireworks on or under any vehicle, on any public roadway, within 50 feet of a fireworks stand or where fireworks are stored, and at gas stations or any place liquid gas – including propane – is stored.

o Always refer to the local ordinances as to whether fireworks are allowed in your area as well as what types. Some cities or counties have restricted dates/times or types of fireworks that may be sold or discharged.

• Travel guidance:
o Currently, KDHE does not consider travel within Kansas as a criterion for travel-related quarantine. A local health officer may choose to include this as criteria so you should be aware of your local isolation and quarantine criteria.
o However, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) does issue regular mandates on travel-related quarantines for international, domestic travel to other states, and cruise-related travel. People in Kansas are asked to quarantine for a period of 14 days starting from the day they arrive in Kansas after visiting a high-risk location.
o As of 6/29 KDHE is mandating a 14-day home quarantine for Kansans if you have done any of the following:
 Traveled to:
• South Carolina and Florida on or after June 29.
• Alabama, Arizona, or Arkansas on or after June 17.
• Been on a cruise ship or river cruise on or after March 15.
• International travel on or after March 15.
 Others needing to continue quarantining:
• Received notification from public health officials (state or local) that you are a close contact of a laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19.

For more information on COVID-19, visit the KDHE website at www.kdhe.ks.gov/coronavirus.

Kansas courts to require masks

District and appellate courts in Kansas were ordered to comply with the governor’s order to wear masks in public to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

The Kansas Supreme Court issued the administrative order on July 2, and it takes effect July 3, according to a news release from the courts.

Although the governor’s order exempts courts, the court’s administrative order will apply.


The Supreme Court order requires all court employees, judicial officers, and members of the public to wear a face covering in any courtroom, court office, or other facility used for a court proceeding.

Face coverings must also be worn in any nonpublic court office unless physical shields are in place. Wherever there are two or more persons present in a nonpublic office, masks or shields will be required.

Courts are required to comply even if local county commissions opt out of the governor’s executive order, according to a spokesman for the courts.

“We must protect the health and safety of court users, staff, and judicial officers during this pandemic,” Chief Justice Marla Luckert said. “The use of face coverings, hygiene practices, protective shielding, and social distancing will allow us to do that as we conduct court proceedings across the state.”

The Supreme Court order allows a judge to waive the face covering requirement under certain circumstances set out in the order. That exception refers to social distancing, cleaning surfaces and restricting the number of people in a court room.

The order went into effect on July 3. The court’s administrative order is at https://www.kscourts.org/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/Orders/2020-PR-090.pdf.

Education will be primary way new mask order is enforced, according to Health Department

Wyandotte County doesn’t plan any drastic enforcement of the new mask order, but it will emphasize education, as it did earlier in the stay-at-home orders, according to a Unified Government Health Department spokesman.

With cases of COVID-19 rising in Kansas and in Wyandotte County recently, both the county and the state have issued mask orders. Both orders mandate people to wear masks in public places, including outdoors and indoors, with some exceptions.

The Wyandotte County mask order is now in effect and will be in effect until the governor’s mask order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 2, said Janell Friesen, Health Department spokesman. If anything would happen to the governor’s order, the Wyandotte County order on masks would still be in effect.

“Most of the requirements in the state order and the Wyandotte County order are very similar,” Friesen said.

One difference she has noticed is that in the governor’s order, there is more responsibility on businesses to implement the mask order. Businesses are required to make their employees wear masks, as well as to require patrons to wear masks.

The Health Department currently is comparing the two orders, to see the differences, but the orders are very similar, she said.

“For the most part, when you’re in doubt, you probably need to wear a mask,” she said. Ther are exceptions for health and safety reasons, for people who can’t wear a mask, which is a relatively small number of people, for those who have breathing problems and those unable to remove masks without assistance, as well as for young children under 5.

For businesses, the governor’s order may require them to have signs, she said. The Health Department will be working on signs that businesses can use.

Friesen said the Health Department will offer education and resources if they are seeing places that don’t follow the new masking order.

“This is not about punishment, it’s about keeping people safe,” she said. They will make sure a business knows about the order and can implement it.

She said the Health Department also will be working on providing police officers with information materials so that as they go about their day, they can provide that information to people and educate them about what is covered by the order.

If the Health Department has supplies available, such as donated masks, it could make that available to people, and perhaps officers could hand them out, she said.

While the orders include some wording about enforcement, the focus right now is making sure everyone knows about the mask order and is able to take the steps to wear a mask, she said. They don’t anticipate having to do any drastic enforcement such as arrests. The state’s attorney general earlier today issued a memo that said he doesn’t think arrests can be made for violating health orders, after the Legislature passed a law, HB 2016, making violations a civil matter.

Friesen said law enforcement played a role of providing education and helping to be a resource in the past health orders.

Both orders exempt the deaf and hard-of-hearing, as they may need to read lips, and those under 5, as well as people who have medical conditions such as COPD, along with those who have a disability where they can’t remove their masks. Masks should not be worn by children under 2, according to health experts.

The governor’s order has some exemptions for legislative events and also for the courts that the local order didn’t include.

The governor’s mask order also uses a little different language in discussing exemptions to wearing masks in restaurants, however, in general, the orders are similar and Wyandotte Countians need to be wearing masks in spaces indoors and outdoors, she said.

The governor’s new executive order on masks is at https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20200702093130003.pdf.

The governor’s news release on the new mask order is at https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-laura-kelly-signs-executive-order-mandating-masks-in-public-spaces/.

Wyandotte County has a frequently-asked-questions page on the local order requiring masks at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/07012020_MaskOrderFAQ.pdf.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s enforcement memo is at https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/addendum-3-to-march-24-law-enforcement-duties-and-authorities-memo.pdf?sfvrsn=d088af1a_3

The Wyandotte County mask order is at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/06272020LocalHealthOfficerOrderRegardingMasks.pdf.


A news release on the Wyandotte County mask order is at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/06272020PressReleaseLHORequiresPublicToWearMasks.pdf.