Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday said Kansas is trying to secure additional personal protective equipment for health care workers and first responders.
The governor made her remarks while positive COVID-19 cases went up another 98 cases today, for a total of 845 cases, with three more deaths from Sunday, bringing the total to 25 statewide deaths.
Gov. Kelly said there were three ways the state was trying to get more supplies of masks, gowns, gloves and ventilators – first, through the strategic national stockpile managed by Health and Human Services; second, through the Federal Management Emergency Agency; and third, through buying equipment.
Kansas has received 90 percent of its share of personal protective equipment from the national stockpile, she said, and the federal government has said it will not be releasing the remaining 10 percent. The last shipment came in on the night of April 2 and is being distributed to counties based on their census numbers, she said.
Kansas has made seven requests to FEMA for personal protective equipment, she said, and has received nothing so far. The state has requested over 260,000 testing supplies, 9.1 million surgical gowns, 22.3 million gloves 4.6 million N95 masks, 1.2 million face shields, 10.7 million surgical masks and 500 ventilators, she said.
The state also has been trying to buy supplies privately using state general fund money, which the state has been pursuing since the beginning, she said. The state budget included $15 million for purchasing personal protective equipment. Some items have already been purchased. She said that because of the pandemic, several of the state’s orders had been canceled. Other costs have been inflated, such as $1.85 N95 masks now costing more than $4.
The state is now awaiting a shipment of 3.9 million N95 masks, 1.8 million surgical masks, 2 million gloves, 4 million gowns, 2 million shoe covers and 2 million face shields, she said.
“These private purchases are designed to hold Kansas over until new supply chains can deliver or until FEMA sends us our requested supplies,” Gov. Kelly said.
She said the state has reached out to research labs for testing chemicals, autobody shops for N95 masks and tattoo shops for gloves. They also are trying to reach out to Kansas businesses to manufacture what they need, she added.
“I’m grateful for all the businesses that have stepped up at this time of need,” Gov. Kelly said. “Unfortunately, all of this may not be enough to meet the demand we could anticipate coming by the end of the month.”
One major Kansas hospital uses 220,000 gloves a day, even after taking measures to slow the use of protective equipment, such as stopping elective surgeries, she said. Local communities also are using their supply chains to procure personal protective equipment, she added.
“I continue to coordinate with our state and federal partners to fast-track PPE production, procurement and delivery,” Gov. Kelly said. “We are never going to solve this problem if states are continually forced to bid against each other and against the federal government. It is creating widespread confusion among all the state’s suppliers and it is delaying every state’s response effort, including Kansas. It’s also driving up the cost of PPE tremendously for every state.”
She said there are still a few more weeks before the Kansas infection rate is expected to peak.
The governor also said that the state will evaluate what its needs are and then ask for supplemental aid in the fourth phase of the federal relief effort.
She also said that higher education is an area that needs more assistance.
Kansas COVID-19 positive cases increased to 845 on Monday, an increase of 98 cases from Sunday’s total of 747, according to Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He said the number of positive cases will continue to go up as testing increases.
The KDHE also reported 25 statewide deaths, three more deaths from Sunday’s figures.
There were 198 hospitalizations statewide, KDHE reported, compared to 183 on Sunday.
At 3:40 p.m. the Unified Government COVID-19 website updated its numbers to 190 positive COVID-19 cases in Wyandotte County, with 50 patients hospitalized and one more death than Sunday.
Dr. Norman said the University of Washington models have slightly decreased their national projections, reducing expected deaths from 93,500 to 81,700 nationwide. The number of ventilators required are being decreased from 31,700 to 19,000, he said.
The state is in the process of increasing its capacity, with the Army Corps of Engineers looking at alternative care sites, such as dorms, hospitals and nursing homes that have been decommissioned, he said.
Dr. Norman reported that six counties, including Wyandotte, Johnson, Leavenworth, Coffey, McPherson and Sedgwick, have had clusters of cases.
“Three of the 11 clusters are related to church gatherings,” Dr. Norman said.
With the Easter and Passover holidays coming up this week, Dr. Norman asked residents not to gather in numbers that would put them in danger.
According to the Unified Government Health Department’s Facebook page, the three church-related clusters were the Ministers Conference at Miracle Temple Church of God in Christ March 16-22; a gala on March 14 at Rising Star Baptist Church; and the Power Realm Church of God in Christ, all in Wyandotte County. This was before Wyandotte County’s stay-at-home order went into effect March 24.
On Friday, another cluster in Wyandotte County was reported. The Riverbend long-term care and rehabilitation center near 78th and Freeman in Kansas City, Kansas, had 17 residents who tested positive for COVID-19, now including some deaths.
At Lansing Correctional Facility, there are three inmates and five staff members who have tested positive, he said. State health staff are working with the prison, and because the way the facility is designed, he thinks Kansas will be in better shape than some other prisons nationwide.
Dr. Norman said the state lab has about 1,900 test kits in-house now, and is adding two new methods. One is a 45-minute test that started on Friday, he said.
Kansas also will receive 15 Abbott test platforms, he said, that take about 15 minutes.
It is something that can be distributed through the state, he said. They will be “closer to the bedside,” he said.
The state has been testing sick people and will continue to do so, and it also will bring in more tests for the general public, he said. That will be giving them an indication of how widespread the disease is, he said.
“We are improving on staying at home and decreasing our mobility,” he said.
Even though the state improved, it’s still a D grade statewide, he added. Johnson and Wyandotte County have C grades, he added.
“What we’re trying to do is prevent illness and death,” Dr. Norman said.
To view the governor’s news conference, visit
https://www.facebook.com/GovLauraKelly/videos/641538899757747/
To view Kansas Department of Health and Environment COVID-19 information, visit
https://public.tableau.com/profile/kdhe.epidemiology#!/vizhome/COVID-19Data_15851817634470/KSCOVID-19CaseData.
The Unified Government’s COVID-19 website is at https://www.wycokck.org/COVID-19.
Information from the Centers for Disease Control is online at
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/.