Coronavirus can infect anybody at any time, doctors at the University of Kansas Health System said during a news conference Friday morning.
The COVID-19 positive test of President Trump and Melania Trump on Thursday was the subject of comments on Friday morning from doctors at the University of Kansas Health System’s COVID-19 news conference.
Dr. Stites said their thoughts and prayers were with the president and everyone struck by the coronavirus. With the news of the positive COVID-19 test results, officials from all over the nation expressed their thoughts and prayers for the family’s recovery, including Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.
“The pillars of infection control follow you wherever you go,” Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, said at the news conference. “If you follow those pillars, you can really work to stay safe, and the most important pillars of that are to wear a mask and social distance.”
“Coronavirus does not care,” Dr. Stites said at the news conference. Coronavirus is a virus and spreads like any other, he said. “We care, people care, we care for each other.
“I don’t think we’re going to learn anything new from this, except that we are all vulnerable and susceptible to this virus that doesn’t care,” Dr. Stites said.
While they did not know the plans for the president’s treatment, the timing for medications such as remdesivir, antibodies and anticoagulants is very important, Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control, said.
Dr. Hawkinson said it was not a given that the president would get very sick. Dr. Stites said that with treatments, the chances are that the president and first lady would be all right.
The president went to Walter Reed Hospital late Friday afternoon.
Dr. David Wild, vice president of performance improvement at KU Health System, said the president was tested daily, but test results are only good for a moment in time. It’s common to test negative one day and positive the next, he said.
Dr. Wild reported that COVID-19 hospitalizations at KU Health System since March 1 have totaled 773.
More people were hospitalized within the past few months than at the start of the pandemic, but the length of stays now is shorter, Dr. Wild said. Patients now have fewer chronic medical conditions, the patients also are younger now, and the death rate is lower, he said.
Dr. Hawkinson said there were 32 COVID-19 patients in the acute phase in the hospital on Friday morning, down from 34 on Thursday. There were nine patients in the intensive care unit, the same as Thursday, and seven patients on ventilators, an increase of one since Thursday. They were concerned that 80 percent of the patients in the ICU were on ventilators. There were another 26 patients who are now out of the acute phase and in recovery, but are still in the hospital, he said. At HaysMed in Hays, Kansas, there were 12 inpatients with one in the non-infectious but recovering phase.
On Friday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported an additional 1,362 positive COVID-19 cases in Kansas, with an additional 20 deaths statewide.
The Unified Government COVID-19 webpage reported 7,045 positive COVID-19 cases on Friday afternoon, an increase of 72 cases since Thursday in Wyandotte County. There were no additional deaths, with the same number as Thursday, at a total 134.
Free testing continues Saturday
Free tests are available from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 3, at La Fe en Jesucristo, 1500 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.
The tests are available through the Wyandotte County Health Equity Task Force and Vibrant Health.
The tests now are open to asymptomatic people as well as those who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19. Check with the UG Health Department’s Facebook page to see if there have been any changes in the schedule because of the weather or for other reasons.
More information about testing is at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19,
The KU doctors’ news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/939349696542415.
The KDHE news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/KDHEnews/videos/341030597193783.
The Health Department has released its testing schedule for October, and it is online at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.
The KDHE’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/.
The UG COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
The Unified Government COVID-19 hub outbreak map at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/.
To see an NEA list of schools that have had COVID-19 cases, visit https://app.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=aa3f2ede7cb2415db943fdaf45866d2f.
The KC Region COVID-19 Hub dashboard is at https://marc2.org/covidhub/.
The Unified Government Health Department is collecting information on people’s experiences getting tested for COVID-19 in Wyandotte County. The survey is on the UG website at https://us.openforms.com/Form/ea97a450-3d74-4d86-8d1f-6e340d55cf7c.
The UG Health Department school and sports guidance is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/09042020fallsportsrecommendations.pdf.
A previous UG sports order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/files/assets/public/health/documents/covid/08132020localhealthofficerorderregardingsports.pdf.
The Wyandotte County school start order is online at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
Wyandotte County is under a mandatory mask order and is in Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan. For more information, residents may visit the UG COVID-19 website at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information or call 311 for more information.
The CDC’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.