Category: COVID-19

COVID-19 cases increase 271 today in Kansas

An extra $600 weekly payment for those receiving unemployment benefits went to recipients today, according to Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.

It was part of the federal legislation passed by Congress to address the COVID-19 pandemic effects.

“A processing issue that has delayed implementation of the $600 weekly payment has been resolved, and the Department of Labor will be processing more than $3.4 million in benefits today,” Gov. Kelly said at a news conference. The $600 is in addition to the regular unemployment payments.

In addition, Gov. Kelly has directed the state Department of Labor to evaluate all its processes and procedures for handling worker compensation claims filed by first responders and health care workers that are related to the pandemic. The state will submit a temporary regulation and develop a draft of legislation for workers who get COVID-19 while part of their employment.

Kansas Secretary of Labor Delia Garcia said the $600 payments would go automatically to those receiving unemployment and no additional action was needed on the recipients’ part. The state now has Spanish language information at www.getkansasbenefitsnow.gov, at a top right button on the website, she said.

Gov. Kelly reported that Kansas has 2,482 positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up 271 cases from Wednesday. There were 112 total deaths in the state, up two from Wednesday. Seventy-four of 105 counties have reported positive cases.

Kansas had an increase of 186 cases on Wednesday, and the Thursday increase is now the largest increase to date in Kansas.

Gov. Kelly answered a question about name-calling by protesters in Topeka who demonstrated their opposition to the stay-at-home order today. Hundreds of protesters were there. She said she worked many years with adolescents, so there was no name she hadn’t been called at some point in her life. Als

“I understand your frustration,” Gov. Kelly said. “I’m as frustrated by this.”
She said she wished she could snap her fingers and have it all over with, but she can’t, and they have to pay attention to the science and reopen the economy as health indicators will allow. There are three phases in reopening, and each includes some steps, such as enough testing to determine the extent of the virus.

Kansas is still in need of testing supplies, Gov. Kelly said, and she has been asking federal agencies to provide them.

She said she has talked with industries across the state this week, as well as the tourism industry, chambers of commerce, small businesses and others to prepare for lifting the orders on May 3. They may not be able to lift the order on May 3, but it was the state’s original intent to do so, she added.

Gov. Kelly said states need additional federal funding to address shortfalls from the last few months, including extending the tax filing deadlines. The state is estimated to be down $1.3 billion for the next two years. She said the third stimulus bill will include some assistance from the federal government, but more will be needed.

Total positive cases up 17 in Wyandotte County

Wyandotte County reported 490 total cases and 47 total deaths at 4 p.m. April 23, according to the Unified Government COVID-19 webpage. Wyandotte County had 473 cases at 4:40 p.m. April 22, an increase of about 17. There were the same number of deaths as the late report April 22.

Testing was expanded this week by the Health Department in Wyandotte County. For information about how to get a test and times available, visit https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/ExpandedCOVID-19testinginWyCo.pdf.

Mayor launches Re-Start WYCO Committee

Mayor David Alvey announced today he was launching a Re-Start WYCO Committee.

The committee has already held one meeting, according to a spokesman, and is scheduled to meet again on Friday.

The group includes health and business leaders. It will not decide when to reopen or relax guidelines, but it will provide guidance on how to safely reopen when the time comes, according to a spokesman.

Dr. Allen Greiner, chief medical officer of Wyandotte County, will advise the county on when to reopen, based on all the data available, according to the spokesman. The co-chairs are Dr. Greiner and UG Commissioner Brian McKiernan.

“We recognize the hardship this pandemic is placing on families and businesses across Wyandotte County, and I am heartened by our community’s commitment and sacrifice to protect its most vulnerable,” stated UG Mayor David Alvey, in a news release. “We need a strategy and a plan that focuses first on health, but also addresses the need to gradually restore and re-open our community at the appropriate time, and in a manner that doesn’t undo our previous efforts to combat COVID-19.”

KU Health System planning additional testing

The University of Kansas Health System is planning additional COVID-19 testing as it is scheduled to receive additional equipment allowing them to handle perhaps 1,000 tests a day, according to doctors at a news conference Thursday morning.

KU Health System also is participating in a trial for patients using convalescent plasma, according to the doctors.

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the KU Health System, said that the KU Health System is gearing up to resume some elective surgery soon.

He said procedures are being put in place to make sure that the patients will be safe. There could be some changes, such as waiting in vehicles instead of in a waiting room, in the future.

He said the doctors were concerned that people have been delaying health care during the COVID-19 pandemic across the country. He urged people to take care of chronic medical problems, such as heart problems.

KU Health System reported 23 COVID-19 inpatients, 12 in the intensive care unit, and 69 to 70 discharges on Thursday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control.

Other county COVID-19 totals

Seventy-four Kansas counties reported positive COVID-19 patients on Thursday.

Some of the largest numbers, besides Wyandotte County, included Johnson Count, 403; Ford County, 288; Leavenworth County, 154; Lyon County, 105; Finney County, 87; Coffey County, 48; and Douglas County, 44.

To see the governor’s news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/GovLauraKelly/videos/3247224465502124/.

To see the KU Health System news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/615755085675997/?tn=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARCXe6Lj0JvWyLHYg6Xg5zxs1J6nnRGeWqeFt9ctoh4xifrT7r-9TdLmKPWHM9i_1eJLgWNf52EJf7-H

The Kansas COVID-19 resource page is at https://govstatus.egov.com/coronavirus.

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

To see more details about the mayor’s Re-Start WYCO Committee, visit https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/ReStartWYCOCommitteeFormed04232020.pdf.

by Nomin Ujiyediin, Kansas News Service

Lawrence, Kansas — The more Kansas tests people for the coronavirus, the clearer it becomes that black Kansans are being disproportionately affected — a sobering trend that is true in communities across the United States.

Black Kansans are three times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than white people, and more than seven times more likely to die from the virus. Latinos are also about three times as likely to test positive for COVID-19.

The data mirrors trends seen in across U.S. cities like New York, Chicago and Detroit, as well as other states.

Kansas’ data points also follow the lines of racial disparities in health care treatment and access. Black Americans have higher rates of obesity, diabetes, asthma and other health conditions.

“These disparities are nothing new,” said Crystal Lumpkins, an associate professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center who studies public health communications.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has cautioned that its coronavirus race data is incomplete, because of “the high number of individuals tested with no race and ethnicity reported.”

In an email, spokeswoman Kristi Zears said the agency needs more data on race and ethnicity from test providers.

“KDHE is working to expand testing in areas throughout Kansas,” she said.

But outreach to black communities should have happened earlier, Lumpkins said. State and county governments, health departments and medical providers hadn’t spent much time reaching out to black communities even before the pandemic.

‘We don’t feel like we’re included’

Lumpkins said her community in Wyandotte County, which has one of the largest black populations in the state, didn’t get much information about the pandemic early on. Now, the county has the most cases in Kansas, and nearly half of its COVID-related deaths are black individuals.

Things could have been different, Lumpkins said, if officials had more proactively consulted her community in the preceding years.

“One of the things I’m hearing from my community members is that many times, we don’t feel like we’re included,” she said. “It comes across as very tangential or something that is done after the fact.”

Lumpkins also said the lack of communication had allowed rumors to spread — such as a myth that African Americans couldn’t get the coronavirus.

“African Americans, because of history, have been more likely to not trust the information from those types of organizations,” she said. “It is really incumbent upon these entities to recognize that.”

Black communities across the country tend to have less access to amenities that improve health, like grocery stores and outdoor recreation. Many black Americans also have to travel farther to access hospitals and pharmacies.

That can lead to poorer health outcomes overall, said Rashawn Ray, a fellow at the Brookings Institute and sociology professor at the University of Maryland.

“Structural factors undergird pre-existing health conditions — and people’s exposure to COVID-19,” Ray said.

‘There’s not been any urban renewal’

Broderick Crawford, who’s the president of the New Bethel Church Community Development Corp. in Kansas City, Kansas, believes “80 to 90% of a person’s health does not occur inside of a medical facility at a clinic. It happens outside of that.”

Crawford said the response from health officials and hospitals has been inadequate, partially due to discrimination against the black community. His neighborhood doesn’t have a grocery store, which means less access to healthier foods. There aren’t many jobs nearby that people can walk to, and some may not feel safe walking or exercising outside at all.

“There’s not been any urban renewal in this particular area,” he said. “It’s those kinds of things that have negatively impacted our community.”

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that higher percentages of black people work in the service, transportation, production and shipping industries than other groups.

“We put these factors together and it leads to blacks being more exposed,” Ray said. “We also know that black Americans are more likely to be in these new ‘essential service’ jobs.”

Overall, Kansas needs to obtain and provide more demographic information when it comes to coronavirus testing, Ray said, including gender, age and location.

“We need to collect more data,” he said, “then be able to funnel resources, testing and triage centers to predominantly black neighborhoods that are under-resourced.”

Nomin Ujiyediin reports on criminal justice and social welfare for KCUR and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @NominUJ.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-04-23/black-kansans-at-least-7-times-more-likely-to-die-from-coronavirus-than-white-kansans.