Eighty-five tests on staff and patients at the Life Care Center of Kansas City, the Kansas City, Kansas, nursing home where a COVID-19 patient lived, have come back negative, health officials said today during a virtual news conference held by the University of Kansas Health System.
Dr. Allen Greiner, chief medical officer for the UG Health Department, said during the news conference Monday morning that there also are an additional 25 tests pending at the state health lab.
There has been no link found as of now between the nursing home in Kansas City, Kansas, and other nursing homes in the state of Washington, owned by the same chain, where there were COVID-19 cases reported, Dr. Greiner said.
“We’re still conducting that intensive investigation and we don’t know how that patient was exposed to the virus at all,” Dr. Greiner said. “Because all 85 have now tested negative, we’re looking further for contacts, but there is no reason to believe there is a connection with the Washington facility.”
The patient, who was in his 70s, was at the nursing home, then was transferred to Providence Medical Center last Tuesday for other medical issues, and died there Wednesday. No other COVID-19 cases were reported in Wyandotte County.
Dr. Greiner said some new sites will be coming online with private testing soon, with at least four private labs offering tests.
He added there were 20 individuals in Wyandotte County currently under a 14-day quarantine, and they are being monitored by the Health Department.
The Johnson County Health Department today reported more cases of COVID-19, bringing cases there to eight.
Tammy Peterman, chief operating officer at the University of Kansas Health Systems, outlined several steps taken at the hospital to reduce the spread of COVID-19, including banning all business travel, screening employees returning from travel, expanding work at home and restricting visitors. They are convening a group of hospital leaders to learn from one another.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, participated in the news conference, and said it was “likely” that he will vote for a bill that the Senate is considering to provide funding for citizens and employees who are facing economic hardship because of the pandemic. The bill passed the House on Saturday.
He said that there needs to be resources for those who are unable go to to work and are caring for children, and for health care workers. There needs to be a different way to meet the needs of small business workers, he added.
Sen. Moran also said the USDA has told the Senate that it will provide food to schoolchildren who may be receiving meals under the low-income programs, and a process was being developed for the food to be delivered or picked up if school is not in session.
The CDC has stated that crowds should be limited to no more than 50 people in a place, and Dr. Steven Stites of the University of Kansas Health System said that whether or not the state cancels events of more than 50, individuals should take the social responsibility and not go to those events.
“Don’t wait on the government to tell you,” he said.
Dr. Greiner agreed.
“We want folks to avoid crowds,” he said.
He encouraged people to stay more than 6 feet apart, wash their hands, cough into their elbows and avoid crowds.
More information from this video news conference is available online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/894235634348062/.
KDHE has a website for more information on COVID-19, at http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus.
The Wyandotte County website on COVID-19 is at https://www.wycokck.org/COVID-19.
The CDC also has a COVID-19 website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/.