Two Lansing Correctional Facility staff deaths from COVID-19 were noted today by Kansas officials.
George Bernard Robare, an LCF officer who died from COVID-19, was always known to give more than his fair share during his 36 years at work and never left anything undone for the next shift to do, Gov. Laura Kelly said during a news conference Wednesday.
Officer Robare liked to work on cars, gardening, cross-stitch and bowling, she said. She sent her sympathy to the family.
Gov. Kelly also said there has been another death of a correctional officer at LCF, whose name will be announced later.
Kansas Corrections Secretary Jeff Zmuda said this is an extremely difficult time for the department and staff.
“Our entire organization is mourning the loss of two dedicated and respected members of our corrections family,” Zmuda said at the news conference. Together, they had more than five decades of service, he said, and were valued members of the corrections team.
He said he had seen the dedication and commitment of the staff to each other and to residents.
“This virus does not discriminate and has touched so many of us in our lives personally,” he said. “We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure the health and safety of our employees and everyone in our custody.”
During the pandemic, there has been a constant collaboration with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, he said. Early in the crisis, the state prisons had an inadequate number of masks, and produced its own cloth masks with the Kansas Correctional Industries program. Zmuda also said KDOC implemented a passive screening process, and later an active screening process. They suspended visitors in early April, he said. Staff at sites with positive cases were required to wear masks at all times, he said.
Dr. Lee Norman, Kansas secretary of health, said the state had 7,468 positive cases, an increase of 352 since Monday.
The Lansing Correctional Facility is one of 88 outbreaks the state is monitoring.
Forty of the outbreaks are considered closed, while 48 are active, he said. The outbreaks resulted in 3,500 cases and 116 deaths, he said.
• Thirty-six of the outbreaks are in private companies, with 329 cases and four deaths, he said. Nineteen are now closed.
• Twenty-six are in long-term care facilities, with nine outbreaks closed, he said. They account for 593 cases and 95 deaths.
• Nine outbreaks were in churches or other gatherings, with eight of the outbreaks now closed, accounting for 114 cases and nine deaths, he said.
• There were eight outbreaks at meatpacking plants resulting in 1,536 cases and four deaths, he said. Included in that total was one plant in Missouri that affected Kansas.
• There were three group living situations with 41 cases and no deaths, and two outbreaks now are closed.
• Three correctional facilities, including LCF, with 864 cases and four deaths.
• Three outbreaks with health care facilities, with 22 cases and zero deaths, and two outbreaks are closed.
Dr. Norman said KDHE has added Maryland to its quarantine list, while removing Colorado and Louisiana from the list. More information on the quarantine locations are available at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/135/Travel-Related-Quarantine-Table-PDF—5-12-20.
Dr. Norman stated that Kansas on Tuesday received 10 cases of remdesivir, typically used for people who have COVID-19 and are in intensive care. It will be distributed throughout the state to greatest areas of need.
Also at the news conference, Kansas Labor Secretary Delia Garcia said her department has proposed guidelines for workers’ compensation for those workers with COVID-19 who put their lives on the line, including first responders.
The first regulation proposed by KDOL has been rejected by the state’s attorney general on the basis that it needs to be legislation, she said. The second regulation is awaiting a response, she added. If it becomes law, Kansas would join other states, including Missouri, to insure the safety of front-line workers by taking care of them. People have been pleading for this protection, she said.
“Front-line workers are already heroes but they should not be martyrs,” Garcia said.
Garcia said KDOL is now accepting applications from residents for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program at www.pua.getkansasbenefits.gov. This program, part of the CARES Act, is for people who are self-employed, or independent contractors, or employees of religious organizations, or those who lack significant work history, or those who exhausted their benefits. There were over 14,000 initial applications, she said. Payment of benefits is expected to begin by May 25.
If applicants are approved for the PUA program, they would receive $600 extra payments on top of their approved amounts, she said. Even if they go back to work, they would be paid the back payments, she added.
Garcia said the KDOL experienced some delays getting payments out because of a withdrawal cap of $70 million on its account. They are working with the bank to remove the cap, she added.
She noted April has had the highest number of unemployed persons in the nation since the Great Depression, at 14.7 percent. In Kansas, there were more than 236,000 initial claims from March 15 to May 9, she said. The KDOL has paid about $320 million total in unemployment payments.
The KDOL continues to work on solving problems such as the high call volume resulting in callers being kicked off hold. They are receiving 150,000 to 200,000 calls a day. They are working on a system to provide more capacity, she said.
Local outbreaks
Some Wyandotte County outbreaks may no longer be active. The date of the last case may show whether they are still active or not, as it takes as long as two weeks for the disease to show symptoms after exposure.
COVID-19 outbreaks in Wyandotte County, as listed on the Health Department’s COVID-19 page at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/, included:
• Riverbend Post-Acute Rehabilitation facility, 7850 Freeman, 132 cases, 36 deaths, last case reported April 27.
• Miracle Temple Minister’s Conference, 2106 Quindaro Blvd., 55 cases, six deaths, last case reported April 8.
• Life Care Center of Kansas City, 3231 N. 61st, 42 cases, last case reported May 8; earlier, four deaths were reported at this location on May 5 and one death was reported there in March.
• National Beef Packaging, 100 Osage, 41 cases, last case reported May 12.
• Kellogg’s Bakery, 801 Sunshine Road, 20 cases, last case reported May 8.
• Delaware Highlands Assisted Living, 12600 Delaware Parkway, 18 cases, last case, April 24.
• El Torito Supermarket, 1409 Central Ave., 16 cases, last case reported May 5.
• Premier Custom Food, 756 Pawnee, 12 cases, last case reported May 11.
• Amazon distribution facility, 6925 Riverview, 8 cases, last case reported May 11.
• MWI Animal Health, 2450 Midpoint Drive, 6 cases, last case reported May 5.
• The Legacy Warehouse, a distribution warehouse for stores, 233 S. 42nd, 5 cases, last case reported May 8.
• Liberty Fruit Company, 1247 Argentine Blvd., 5 cases, last case reported May 4.
• House of Guadalupe Convent, 2226 Troup Ave., 10 cases, last case reported April 30.
• Donnelly College construction site, 608 N. 18th St., 8 cases, last case reported April 20.
• Rising Star Baptist Church, 1034 Walker Ave., 6 cases, last case, March 31.
To view the governor’s news conference, with more details, visit https://www.facebook.com/GovLauraKelly/videos/625332721530551/
More information about the “red zone” rules is online at the ReStart WyCo hub at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/restartwyco.
The ReStart WyCo plan is at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/RestartWYCOGuidanceDocument043020.pdf.
Several Wyandotte County pop-up testing sites are listed at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.
The UG’s COVID-19 webpage is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
The Kansas COVID-19 website is at https://covid.ks.gov/.
The Kansas COVID-19 resource page is at https://govstatus.egov.com/coronavirus.
Information from the CDC is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/.
