In a joint news conference on Friday morning in Kansas City, Kansas, three counties’ executives announced that May 10 would be the last day of the stay-at-home order here, with reopening on May 11.
Wyandotte, Johnson and Jackson counties combined for the joint announcement today at Memorial Hall. Officials present included KCK Mayor David Alvey, Johnson County Chairman Ed Eilert and Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. They were three of the Core4 communities that came together for the original stay-home announcement.
The May 10 date is subject to change, according to local health officials, depending on how well the area does with indicators such as cases, hospitalizations, deaths and disease prevalence in the community.
On Friday, Wyandotte County reported a total of 709 positive COVID-19 cases, with 55 deaths and 34 hospitalizations, according to the UG COVID-19 webpage. It was an increase of 35 cases from Thursday. There was no change in deaths and hospitalizations from Thursday.
Wyandotte County announced some of the details of its plans during a Unified Government meeting on Thursday night. In general, officials said that the stay-at-home rules currently in place through May 10 would be similar to the state’s stay-at-home rules in effect through May 3. The governor has lifted this order effective midnight May 3, and the Wyandotte County stay-at-home rule will go into effect then.
Dr. Allen Greiner, chief medical officer of Wyandotte County, said at the news conference on Friday that the health officials believe they have passed the peak of the curve of deaths and hospitalizations here, although they know the disease will continue. They will move forward with caution after they stop the stay-at-home order, he said.
He added Wyandotte County was hit hardest by COVID-19 in the metro area and they are working hard to protect the vulnerable here.
As there are no vaccines yet for COVID-19, they need to expand testing so they can find individuals who are positive and need to quarantine, to avoid another spike in the health care system. It’s possible that if the transmission of disease worsens, they will have to backtrack to stay-at-home orders in the future, he added.
Data and contact tracing will be crucial in the future, he said.
The reopening plan, after the stay-at-home order expires May 10, has been divided into three zones, red, yellow and green, each lasting a full 14 days, he said. Before the community moves forward to the next step, there will need to be health data in place showing that progress is being made.
Social distancing and personal hygiene still will be necessary, with fewer restrictions as the numbers decrease over time.
Mayor Alvey said he believes they are winning the battle against COVID-19, but it is highly transmissible.
According to Dr. Greiner, there are some differences in the counties’ plans regarding specifics.
In religious services, the Wyandotte County plan mostly focuses on distancing and the number of people present in the size of the building, he said.
According to the ReStart WyCo plan, on page 25, under the stay-at-home current phase, only drive-up and parking lot services are allowed, and no “inside facility” services are allowed. Online and remote services are encouraged. See https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/RestartWYCOGuidanceDocument043020.pdf.
When Wyandotte County advances to the “red zone,” under this plan, the parking lot and remote services are still encouraged. Under that phase, services including weddings and funerals could have 10 percent of the building’s capacity inside, according to the ReStart WyCo plan. Six-foot distancing would be required, except for immediate household members. “Avoid close personal greetings or communion” is in all the guidelines from stay-at-home and “red zone” through the “green zone.”
Mayor Alvey said in the ReStart WyCo plan, there are specific directives regarding long-term health care facilities, with guidelines on disinfecting, personal protective equipment and contact tracing.
The ReStart WyCo plan, for example, stated that people in nursing homes must dine in their rooms only during the stay-at-home order, and also during the next stage, the “red zone.” They must maintain social distancing as much as possible, and common areas of their nursing homes are closed. There are other guidelines on cleanliness, wearing protective gear and screening workers at the entrance daily for symptoms.
In Wyandotte County, under the ReStart WyCo plan, entertainment venues, community centers and museums would stay closed in the stay-at-home and “red zone” phases. The “yellow zone” would limit gatherings to no larger than 25 percent of building occupancy capacity, and the “green zone” states that gatherings would not be larger than 50 percent of the building occupancy capacity.
Mass sporting events in Wyandotte County, such as the Kansas Speedway and Sporting Kansas City, are not allowed under the Wyandotte County “stay-at-home” order, according to the ReStart WyCo plan. In the “red zone,” professional sporting events could be held without fans or attendance, with social distancing as much as possible. The “yellow zone” would allow attendance of no larger than 25 percent maximum event space capacity, and the attendance in the “green zone” would not be larger than 50 percent maximum event capacity.
Education continues with remote or distance learning in the “stay at home” and “red zones,” with more guidance to be issued in the future from the UG Health Department, according to the written plan.
Restaurants and bars continue under the no inside dining rule during the “stay-at-home” and “red zones.” Telephone or online orders may be filled at curbside, for carryout or for delivery. Hotels and motels do not operate under the “stay-at-home” order, according to the ReStart WyCo plan. In the “red zone,” hotels and motels could operate up to 25 percent capacity. Dine-in services returns in the “yellow zone,” at 25 percent capacity, with only immediate family members dining out together.
For manufacturing and business offices, only essential businesses operate in the “stay at home” order. In the “red zone,” they may open, but employees are encouraged to work from home when possible, and social distancing should be maintained.
For retail businesses, essential businesses only operate in the “stay-at-home” order. In the “red zone,” customers order online and pick up at curbside or have them delivered. In the “yellow zone,” stores would try to decrease traffic and crowding by modifying hours, gating customers, appointment-based shopping and online services.
According to the Wyandotte County plan, all essential businesses that were defined in the state of Kansas “stay at home” guidelines will remain as essential businesses in the ReStart WyCo plan.
Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas, representing the fourth part of the Core4 group, was not present at today’s news conference, having already announced on Wednesday that Kansas City, Missouri, would have a soft opening on May 6 for some businesses, and an opening date of May 15. It has a “10-10-10” rule, where no more than 10 people are allowed in an establishment at one time, or 10 percent of building occupancy, with contact information taken of everyone on the premises more than 10 minutes. Restaurants would not open until May 15 in Kansas City, Missouri, with additional guidelines.
To see other counties’ plans for reopening, visit their webpages.
To view the three counties’ news conference, visit https://www.facebook.com/cityofkck/videos/685510308879351/UzpfSTE5MjcwOTg0NDEwNTI3NDozMDc5MzQxMDcyMTA4Nzg5/
The Wyandotte County plan, a 41-page document, was posted Thursday night at https://www.wycokck.org/WycoKCK/media/Health-Department/Documents/Communicable%20Disease/COVID19/RestartWYCOGuidanceDocument043020.pdf
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/.
