Tag: COVID-19

Some information changing about children and COVID-19

Doctors  at the University of Kansas Health System answered questions on Friday morning about topics including children and COVID-19, as some areas are getting ready to start school.

In Wyandotte County, most students don’t start school until after Labor Day, and the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools will be in remote classes for the first nine weeks.

Dr. David Wild, vice president of performance improvement at KU Health System, said he had five or six calls last weekend from families, including children, who were having allergy symptoms. They were tested and about half had COVID-19. It’s possible some of the milder symptoms such as runny nose, cough and fever should be signs that indicate testing is warranted.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, director of medical prevention and control at KU Health, said only about half of children COVID-19 patients in a study had fever and 20 percent had a runny nose.

“It is different from what we are used to,” he said.

It may present differently in children than in adults, he said.

Children may not have a fever, he said, but may still have COVID-19. They may have mild symptoms or none at all and still be able to spread COVID-19, he said.

“If school happens, your bubble is going to be expanded,” Dr. Hawkinson said.

The adults need to maintain as strict a bubble as possible especially if they have family members who are vulnerable.

“Going out and being in large groups, and going to parties, that is not a safe way to expand the bubble,” Dr. Hawkinson said.

People should understand who they will see, groups of 10 or less are better, outdoors, separated and masking is important, he said. If children going to school in person or are in sports or extracurricular activities, their families’ bubble will expand, also, he said.

They should continue to monitor symptoms of others they know, and then figure out if they were in contact with that person, he added.

“Your bubble expands to be the bubble of your children, if they live with you,” Dr. Wild said.

KU Health Systm reported 27 COVID-19 patients at the health system on Friday morning, compared to 26 on Thursday. Eight patients were in the intensive care unit and five were on ventilators. There were nine in the ICU on Thursday and seven on ventilators on Thursday.

According to the Unified Government COVID-19 website, there were a cumulative total of 111 deaths, an increase of two reported since Thursday.

Free testing offered

Heart to Heart International and the University of Kansas Medical Center are offering free testing events for people who are asymptomatic and essential workers. This is tied to a research study. They will be testing from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 22, at La Fe en Jesucristo, 1500 Central Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.

For more information, visit hearttoheart.org/covid19testing.

The Unified Government Health Department is now collecting input 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 KU doctors’ news conference is online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/3464134200305460.

The UG Health Department 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 web page is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

Resiliency during COVID-19 topic of program

Wyandotte County reported 5,448 cumulative COVID-19 cases at 4 p.m. Thursday, an increase of 51 cases since Wednesday. There were 109 cumulative deaths, no change since Wednesday. (From UG COVID-19 webpage)

Becoming resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic was discussed at a University of Kansas Health System news conference on Thursday morning.

Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and Bishop Susan Candea of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America discussed hope and resiliency for the community during the pandemic.

Archbishop Naumann of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, said he would encourage a person of faith to turn to the Lord or to the Scriptures and read from the word of God. Prayer needs to be real.

“An important part is listening to the Lord, and if we do that, we know the Lord is with us,” he said. “A phrase that’s most often used in the Scriptures is ‘Be not afraid.’”

He said he would encourage people to open their hearts to the Lord, be honest and hear the response that the Lord is with them.

In a lot of ways, he said, the Lord is inviting people to show concern and to be witnesses of hope.

Physical exercise and not overloading on the news also is important, he said.

On a biochemical level, fear can lead to changes in the brain and lead to inflammatory processes, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson of KU Health System.

Archbishop Naumann said, “One of the ways I think we can come through this fast is not to be so inward-focused., when you’re feeling down, to call somebody else to get support from them but also to give support and encouragement. There are a lot of ways the Lord is inviting us to show our love and concern to others in the community at this time and to be witnesses of hope.”

Bishop Susan Candea of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said people are fearful, for good reason.

Walking is her way of dealing with COVID-19 fears. She has walked quite a lot, she said, and also has found it helpful to journal and write about it.

While they are not able to sing in the congregations the same way, there is still good music that can be listened to, for example, on YouTube, and she likes the song, “Be Not Afraid.”

It reminds her the fear is not the ultimate reality and it brings her to a better place, she said.

“It is an opportunity to learn to love deeper our neighbors, ourselves, to connect with God and our spirituality,” she said.

Bishop Candea said as challenging as it is, there is an opportunity to find hope in ways that are real and authentic, and can “really make a difference in changing the way we understand our life together as a community and on this planet. So that is the hope that keeps me going, that there is something more at work, and I want to be part of this as we come through it.”

Dr. Hawkinson said exercise, music and art were good ways to break out of the harmful stress and anxiety surrounding COVID-19.

The University of Kansas Health System reported 26 COVID-19 patients in the hospital on Thursday morning, compared to 23 on Wednesday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection control and prevention at KU Health. Nine of the patients were in the intensive care unit, an increase of two since Wednesday, and five were on ventilators, an increase of two.

Wyandotte County reported 5,448 cumulative COVID-19 cases at 4 p.m. Thursday, an increase of 51 cases since Wednesday. There were 109 cumulative deaths, no change since Wednesday.

Free testing offered


Free testing is offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Unified Government Health Department parking lot at 6th and Ann, Kansas City, Kansas. For more information, call 311.

For more information on who may be tested and what to bring, visit 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 online at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/221948789231582.

The UG Health Department 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 web page is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

Coronavirus pandemic causes change in career focus

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Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

Joel Goldberg realized he would have to find other ways to make money when the Major League baseball season was cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Goldberg, one of the announcers for the Kansas City Royals, is an independent contractor. He said he only gets paid when the team plays. So he is supplementing his income as a motivational speaker. He spoke to a combined meeting, via Zoom, of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce and the Fairfax Industrial Association Thursday, Aug. 13.

Goldberg built his speech around what it takes to make a successful team—trust, energy, accountability and makeup. This applies to athletics as well as other businesses.

Goldberg said trust is something a person must build with good relationships. He said Mike Matheny, the new field manager of the Royals this year, first spent time during the off-season visiting with players. Matheny has an open-door policy for players.

Goldberg said energy is important to baseball although it may not be from the person who is the loudest. He cited Alex Gordon, the Royals outfielder, who expresses energy with a quiet, confident manner. Rex Hudler, another of the Royals’ announcers, expresses enthusiasm with his “Hudisms,” similar to what Yogi Berra did. Salvador Perez, the Royals’ catcher, gives off much energy as part of his personality. Goldberg said.

Accountability means that as a team member, a player has to share the blame when things are not going so well.

The makeup of a team is important—that was something that Dayton Moore realized when he took over as general manager of the Royals in 2006. By acquiring players and negotiating appropriate contracts, he built a team that won the World Series in 2015.

Goldberg grew up in suburban Philadelphia and Chicago. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He came to the Royals in 2008; he also does play-by-play announcing for the Kansas City Mavericks hockey team.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.