Category: COVID-19

State’s new quarantine rules do not apply to public health, pharmaceutical and food supply

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment today stated that its mandates announced on Wednesday do not apply to public health including hospitals and clinics, or to critical infrastructures such as pharmaceutical and food supply.

“Public health, including hospitals, clinics, etc., need to have the staffing resources to continue serving Kansans,” according to a statement from KDHE.

“While KDHE strongly recommends these quarantine restrictions for everyone, we do recognize that medical care needs to continue and no health care facility should ever be to a point where it would need to close due to staff being quarantined,” the KDHE stated today. “We ask facilities to ensure they have updated their Emergency Preparedness Plans and implement protocols to ensure that no employee comes to work symptomatic. Other examples of critical infrastructure include pharmaceutical and food supply, along with others defined by the Department of Homeland Security.”

The mandates are listed at https://khap2.kdhe.state.ks.us/NewsRelease/PDFs/3-18-20%20Quarantine%20mandate%20FINAL.pdf

Wyandotte County COVID-19 positive cases now at 9

This story has been updated.

Confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 are now at 9 in Wyandotte County, according to information released today by the Unified Government Health Department.

Four cases were added on Wednesday, March 18, according to the report released at 11:30 a.m. March 19.

A Wyandotte County man in his 60s had a positive test at the VA Medical Center and is isolating at home, according to a case reported on Thursday, March 19.

The four individuals whose positive tests were reported on March 18 include:

• A man in his 70s was admitted to a local hospital where the sample was collected, the report stated.

• A man and a woman in their 70s, who are spouses, are isolating at home, according to the report. Health officials are investigating whether there is a connection between this case and previous cases, the report stated.

• A man in his 60s who is isolating at home. He sought care at a Kansas City VA Outpatient Clinic where test samples were collected, according to the report.

Previous Wyandotte County residents who were confirmed positive include:

• A male under age 18 was reported positive on March 16 and is isolating at home. He attended a local private school while he had symptoms, according to the report. The school has been notified and the UG Health Department is working with them in contact investigation.

• A woman in her 50s was reported positive on March 16 and was hospitalized. She went to a local hospital initially, was released to isolate at home, then returned to the hospital with worsening symptoms. She attended two local churches while she had symptoms. The churches have been notified and the UG Health Department is working on contact investigation, according to the report.

• A woman in her 40s was reported positive on March 16 and is isolating at home. She initially went to a local hospital and was later released, according to the report.

• A man in his 70s died in a case that was reported March 12. He was a resident of Life Care Center of Kansas City who was taken to Providence Medical Center for apparent cardiac issues. He died at the hospital and was tested for COVID-19 after his death, according to the report.

The information is at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Case-counts_March-18_1030am.pdf.

KDHE has a website for more information on COVID-19, at https://govstatus.egov.com/coronavirus.

The CDC also has a COVID-19 website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/.

The Unified Government has a COVID-19 website at Wycokck.org/COVID-19.

Families First Coronavirus Response bill passes

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, Republicans from Kansas, on Wednesday voted in support of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which passed the Senate with a vote of 90-8. The bill later was signed by the President.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act aims to provide aid to the nation in a critical time of need. The legislation works to expand testing for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), deliver financial assistance, offer paid sick leave to workers impacted and increase access to telehealth services.

“As a society, we are faced with a crisis that we have never seen before,” Sen. Roberts said. “The novel coronavirus is impacting not just Kansas or the United States, but the entire world. I am proud to have voted in favor of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to provide much needed relief in light of the coronavirus. If ever there was a time when we needed bipartisanship in the Congress, it is now, and I’m pleased we have been able to work across the aisle for the greater good.”

Sen. Moran spoke on the Senate floor in favor of the bill.

“We need to make certain that our health care providers have the necessary tools to meet the health care needs of American citizens,” Sen. Moran said. “And front and center in that regard is testing, and we are woefully inadequate and undersupplied in what we need to test the necessary number of Kansans and Americans to know what they face and to know what their circumstances are and to respond in the medically required way. We are working to make sure there are more tests across the country and working to make certain that those tests are distributed in a way that Kansans and their health care providers can access them.”

To see a video of Sen. Moran’s remarks on the Senate floor, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYLgqoUiD0I.