Kansas reports 1,369 new COVID-19 cases today and over 300 total cumulative deaths
With Kansas surpassing 300 COVID-19 deaths total, and with 1,369 new cases from Friday to Monday, Gov. Laura Kelly today announced two new executive orders to delay the spread of COVID-19.
The governor has signed a mask order today, and said she will sign the delay of school order later this week.
The Kansas City metro area this past weekend has broken a record for the largest single day increase in COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the virus, she said.
And small towns in Kansas also are suffering, she said, quoting from a resident’s plea for prayers for Logan, Kansas, where the population, including nursing home residents, are fighting COVID-19 and are at risk.
Ellis County, Kansas, jumped by 30 cases last week, mostly from Fourth of July gatherings, Gov. Kelly said, adding the county commission there voted not to enforce the governor’s mask order.
In addition, a recent study from South Korea has shown that children are not immune and that those aged 10-19 can spread COVID-19 at least as effectively as adults do, Gov. Kelly said. In Florida, a third of the children tested in one study were positive for COVID-19, she said.
The governor said last weekend, reports surfaced that there was a behind-the-scenes campaign by Kansas Republicans to get the Kansas State Board of Education to vote against her executive order delaying the start of school until Sept. 9.
She said the same leaders have downplayed or ignored the threat of COVID-19 earlier and used their platforms to promote politics instead of public health. She added they abdicated their duties in the middle of the crisis, putting the burden of decision-making on the school boards and local governments.
“Real leaders confront situations head on, they don’t sit back silently and wait for the situation to get worse,” Gov. Kelly said.
She said she was asking each state Board of Education member to put politics aside and think about students, teachers, their parents and the survival of the Main Street businesses. She also asked everyone to use their platforms to support mandatory face masks, social distancing measures and the executive orders she will sign.
Putting over a half-million students and faculty in daily large gatherings is the exact opposite of what health experts have urged them to do, she said.
Executive Order 20-59 does not need the school board’s approval, she said, and she will sign Executive Order 20-58 after the state school board votes on it later this week.
Executive Order 20-58 delays any student instruction from Aug. 10 to Sept. 8, and will include athletics and extracurricular activities, she said. Schools will be able to hold enrollment in school buildings during this time. Exceptions will be made for students enrolled concurrently in courses that receive college credit and for screenings for placement.
Executive Order 20-59, which goes into effect Aug. 10, will mandate face coverings for all students, faculty, staff and visitors to all schools, she said. There will be exceptions for consumption of food and beverages. There also will be exceptions for activities that are not safely conducted with masks, and children who are not students under age 5, persons with disabilities that prevent wearing a mask and persons who are deaf or those communicating with the deaf, and those who wearing a mask would create a risk to the person related to their work.
The executive order mandates six feet of social distancing except in a classroom where masks are worn. Also, everyone in schools must sanitize their hands once an hour, and must have their temperatures checked when they enter a building. The three weeks will allow schools time to get necessary supplies, she said. It also will allow the state to try to get numbers down again.
“As Dr. Lee Norman said last week, we can still flatten the curve and slow the spread of this disease. But that means everybody doing their part, wearing a mask, following the social distancing rules, avoiding mass gatherings and using good hygiene practices,” she said.
Wyandotte County already is under a mandatory mask order from the local Health Department.
Doctors discuss returning to school
At the University of Kansas Health System news conference on Monday morning, Dr. Jennifer Goldman, pediatric infectious diseases doctor at Children’s Mercy Hospital, said she feels like in-person education could take place safely as long as schools do everything to minimize the risks. Screening everyone for illness, masks for everyone, social distancing and hand washing are necessary, she said.
It is also important for school nurses to have personal protective equipment, she said. Rapid testing will be important, she added. There has to be a plan in place to test children rapidly if they exhibit symptoms of illness, she said, and to contain any infection found in schools, with isolation if necessary.
It’s Dr. Goldman’s belief that children usually follow school rules and will follow the example of teachers and peers.
Dr. Goldman said schools in Europe and Australia successfully reopened.
According to Dr. Goldman, some videos have been developed to show children how to don and doff masks, put on their “superhero” masks for the day and make them feel they are doing something good.
Dr. Angie Myers, division director of infectious diseases at Children’s Mercy, said convincing kids to wear masks and constantly wash their hands can work as long as kids see adults doing it.
Dr. Myers said data from Korean studies suggested that children under age 10 do not spread COVID-19 as much as other age groups. But for age 10 and up, the percentage of children spreading it was higher than the younger group. It was 5 percent for children under 10 and 18 percent for children above 10, she said.
At this point, it appears that universal mask wearing, social distancing and not having mass gatherings may be the biggest contributors to not having spread of COVID-19, she said.
She said all children at Children’s Mercy Hospital who are over age 2 must wear a mask.
She also said she doesn’t think those children who previously had Kawasaki disease were more likely to get COVID-19 than others. She said those with asthma or who were immuno-compromised also should not be at more risk to get COVID-19.
Dr. Myers said teachers can keep safe by wearing masks at all times and keeping a physical distance from their students.
Some children may have concerns about going back to school. Dr. Danielle Johnson, psychologist at the KU Health System, said parents should talk with kids to get them ready for school, and have ongoing conversations about the children’s concerns. Parents need to wear masks and wash their hands, being a model for the children, she said.
Let the children know that it may be scary, but adults are doing the best they can to keep them safe, she said. She advised parents to start getting backpacks ready, get pens, pencils and books ready along with a bottle of hand sanitizer.
According to Dr. Johnson, school is important for social support for children. There have been negative trends of some child suicides during the pandemic, she said. School provides food for children, and school also provides a connection for children with their friends.
Also, Dr. Johnson recommended not being confrontational with those against wearing masks, as it usually doesn’t work. It may work at times to say that “I am trying to keep myself safe, and it would be amazing if you could do this for me,” she said.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System, said they recommend masks, and masks will help protect others and will protect the wearer as well.
Eye protection such as goggles also may help protect the wearer, according to the KU doctors. Dr. Hawkinson discussed wearing face shields, but said the science wasn’t there yet on how much it protects the wearer.
Dr. Hawkinson noted that the FDA has now given emergency use approval for a saliva test for students at the University of Kansas when they return to campus.
Dr. Hawkinson said countries with more containment of the disease than the United States have been successful at resuming school, and the United States can reverse the recent upward trend by wearing masks, physically distancing and keeping hands washed.
Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer at KU Health System, said the battle over whether to wear a mask is not a political issue but a medical issue. He said the science proves that observing the pillars of social responsibility will reverse the recent spike in cases, and he stressed everyone must all do the things that work for themselves and for each other.
Wyandotte County cases up by 46, KU Health System numbers up slightly
The state of Kansas reported an increase of 1,369 COVID-19 cases on Monday morning from Friday morning, according to KDHE statistics. There were 307 cumulative deaths, an increase of eight since Friday.
Wyandotte County reported 3,701 total cumulative COVID-19 cases at 1 p.m. Monday, an increase of 46 since Sunday at 1 p.m., according to the UG’s COVID-19 website. There were 89 deaths, the same number as Sunday.
KU Health System reported 36 COVID-19 patients on Monday morning, with 10 in the intensive care unit and six on the ventilator, according to Dr. Hawkinson. There were 22 cases about a week ago at KU Health System.
Dr. Hawkinson said the numbers are continuing to creep up, unfortunately. He hopes they do not get to the 40 to 50 range. During the weekend, there were some discharges and some admissions, with the numbers varying between 30 to 35, he said.
Dr. Hawkinson said in order for the numbers to decrease and stop the spread of COVID-19, people need to be individually responsible, keep out of large gatherings, keep out of indoor spaces as much as possible, distance 6 to 10 feet from others, and everyone wear masks.
Kansas City, Missouri, schools announce they will not hold in-person classes as originally planned
The Kansas City, Missouri, Public Schools district announced today that it would not reopen this fall with in-person classes as originally planned on the advice of health officials, but will adjust its reopening plans with the help of the health department, staff, board and local officials, according to a statement on the district’s website.
Counties’ numbers
According to KDHE figures, Johnson County currently has the highest number of total cumulative COVID-19 cases in the state. Kansas counties with positive COVID-19 cases over 350, besides Wyandotte County, included:
Johnson County, 3,933.
Sedgwick County, 3,162.
Ford County, 2,061.
Finney County, 1,591.
Leavenworth County, 1,306.
Shawnee County, 1,205.
Seward County, 1,059.
Lyon County, 552.
Douglas County, 537.
Riley County, 371.
Crawford County, 351.
Blood drive planned
The blood supply is low, according to Chelsey Smith of the Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City.
The Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City will hold an emergency blood drive from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, at the KU Medical Center, Health Education Building, fifth floor, Ad Astra room, 39th and Rainbow. The blood drive will continue from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, at the same location. To make an appointment, contact [email protected].
Residents also may give blood at the seven donor centers in Greater Kansas City and other mobile blood drives listed at https://savealifenow.org/donate-blood/new-donor-portal/.
Testing available
Free testing for COVID-19 is available from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 21, at All Saints parish, 811 Vermont Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.
Another pop-up test is available from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 22, at Zotung Christian Church, 5010 Parallel Parkway, Kansas City, Kansas.
Those two are pop-up tests through the Wyandotte County Health Equity Task Force.
Free testing is also being conducted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays at the Health Department, 6th and Ann, in the parking lot in Kansas City, Kansas. The tests were canceled on Monday because of the storms.
Tests are for those who live and work in Wyandotte County, and who have symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19 cases. For more information, call 311 or visit https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.
The governor’s Executive Order 20-59, on wearing masks and other mitigation procedures in schools, is online at https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/EO-20-59-PDF.pdf.
The governor’s news conference is online at https://www.facebook.com/GovLauraKelly/videos/663459251046658.
To see the KU doctors’ news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/618300432141396
For information on the amended Wyandotte County mask order, visit https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/07142020MaskOrderAmendments.pdf and https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/07142020LocalHealthOfficerOrderMaskAmendments.pdf.
The governor’s executive order on masks is at https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20200702093130003.pdf.
The governor’s news release on the mask order is at https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-laura-kelly-signs-executive-order-mandating-masks-in-public-spaces/.
The Wyandotte County mask order is at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/06272020LocalHealthOfficerOrderRegardingMasks.pdf.
For information on how to make an easy no-sew mask, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/how-to-make-a-no-sew-cloth-mask/.
For more information about COVID-19 testing, including other sites, visit https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19. Residents also may call 3-1-1 for more information about testing.
The state’s COVID-19 test page is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/280/COVID-19-Testing.
Residents may visit the UG COVID-19 website at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information or call 311 for more information.
Wyandotte County is currently under Phase 3. See covid.ks.gov.
The state plan’s frequently asked questions page is at https://covid.ks.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Reopening-FAQ_5.19.2020_Final.pdf.
The CDC’s COVID-19 web page is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.