Emergency order issued to stay home beginning Tuesday

An emergency order has been issued for people in Wyandotte County to stay home, except for essential services, beginning Tuesday, March 24.

Janell Friesen, Unified Government health information officer, said that the Core 4 group including Wyandotte County, Jackson County, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, and Johnson County, Kansas, are issuing the stay home order that begins Tuesday, March 24.

There will be some exemptions for essential services access like grocery stores, trips to the doctor’s office and social services, she said. Child care services are classified as essential services.

The Core 4 announcement said the stay home period would be 30 days.

According to a UG news release, the stay home period in Wyandotte County begins Tuesday, March 24, and would end on April 23. After that, the stay home order will be re-evaluated.

Friesen said the details of the “stay home” order are posted on the UG’s Covid-19 website at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.

“It is critical to slow the spread of Coronavirus (CoVid 19),” Dr. Allen Greiner, UG chief medical officer, said in a news release. “The best way to do this is to stay 6 feet or more away from everyone possible– even if they do not have symptoms that include a fever, cough and shortness of breath. If we don’t act, the virus can spread very easily. Sometimes people who have the virus don’t know it. If you are close to someone like this, they can infect you and many others. This is why we must follow the public health order for everyone to stay at home.”

Dr. Greiner continued, “This public health order to stay at home is being issued to slow the rate of community spread of COVID-19 through intensified social distancing. Without such efforts, it is estimated that each COVID19 positive patient could infect between 2.6 to 4 additional people.”

Mayor David Alvey stated in the news release, “Today’s order by the Unified Government’s Chief Medical Officer for residents to Stay at Home is unprecedented. However, these are extraordinary times and we must take these types of preventive measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 within our community.

“This health order will have a disruptive effect on our day-to-day lives, but we are hopeful that the steps we take today will mitigate the spread, protect our vulnerable populations, and save lives in coming weeks.”

The May 21 stay-home order directs all residents to remain at their place of residence, except to conduct “essential activity,” according to the UG news release.

Individuals may leave their residence only to perform an essential activity, according to the news release. People at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 are urged to stay in their residence except as necessary to seek medical care. Individuals who are sick may leave their residence only as necessary to seek or receive medical care in accordance with guidance from public health officials.

Everyone shall practice social distancing while performing essential activities by remaining at least 6 feet of distance from everyone other than household members, the news release stated.

All businesses and operations in Wyandotte County, except essential businesses as defined below, are required to cease all activities, the news release stated.

For clarity, businesses may also continue operations consisting exclusively of employees or contractors performing activities at their own residences (i.e., working from home).

Essential activity

People at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and people who are sick are urged to stay in their residence except as necessary to seek medical care, the news release stated.

Essential activities are activities or tasks essential to an individual’s health or safety or the health and safety of their family or household members. These activities include:

• Obtaining medicine or seeing a doctor or other health care provider

• Getting necessary services or supplies for themselves or their family or household members, such as food, pet food, and supplies necessary for staying at home

• Obtaining supplies necessary for maintaining a household

• Obtaining supplies necessary for working from home

• Engaging in outdoor activity, such as walking, hiking, or running

• Performing work providing essential services at an essential business

• Caring for a family member in another household

• Caring for the elderly, minors, dependents, persons with disabilities, or other vulnerable persons

Essential businesses

Essential businesses are organizations that provide the goods or services needed for an essential activity. These include:

• Hospitals

• Childcare facilities

• Government operations

• Pharmacies, health care supply stores, and health care facilities

• Grocery stores

• Gas stations and auto repair facilities

• Garbage collection

• Hardware stores, plumbers, electricians, exterminators, and other service providers necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences and other essential businesses

• Educational institutions, for the purposes of facilitating distance learning;

• Laundromats, dry cleaners, and laundry service providers

• Businesses that ship or deliver groceries, food, and goods directly to residences.

To see the complete order, with more detail, for Wyandotte County, visit https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/UG_EMERGENCY_HEALTH_ORDER_STAY_AT_HOME.pdf

Friday evening orders

The UG chief medical officer on Friday evening issued further restrictions limiting church services, weddings and funerals. The exemption no longer applies to these three. Only gatherings of 10 or fewer persons are allowed, and persons at those gatherings are asked to keep six feet apart, Friesen said. They are discouraging social gatherings, she said.

While restaurants and bars have been closed in Wyandotte County, they are allowed to have carryout or curbside service.

Wyandotte County also closed all public buildings to in-person service starting Monday, March 23, according to an announcement on Friday evening.

Also, Wyandotte County began an online self-reporting tool for residents at https://us.openforms.com/Form/737110db-ad2f-4fe8-9823-b754a702ed4a.
Residents may report their symptoms, so the Health Department can track the disease, Friesen said. She said personal data is not shared with anyone.

Wyandotte County reported four more cases in the past few days, and is now up to 13 cases, according to UG health information.

The new cases included two men and two women, all who were in the hospital, according to the report.

One woman in her 20s was admitted to the hospital, where a sample was collected, according to the report. Two men in the hospital are in their 60s, while one woman in her 70s is hospitalized. One of the men is the spouse of another person who tested positive for COVID-19.

On Saturday, the Johnson County Health Department reported the first death of a resident in that county connected to COVID-19. The person was a male in his 70s who had no history of travel, and who had underlying health conditions, according to a news release. https://www.jocogov.org/press-release/county-management/johnson-county-department-health-and-environment-announces-its-first

The UG Commission passed an ordinance on Thursday, March 19, making it a misdemeanor for violating health officer’s orders. The maximum fine is $500. See https://wyandotteonline.com/ug-commission-unanimously-approves-emergency-measures-to-deal-with-covid-19/

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

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

COVID-19 information from the CDC is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.