Tag: COVID-19

Restaurants here ordered closed to sit-down dining, but some still open for takeout food

An emergency order closed in-restaurant dining in Wyandotte County until April 1 because of the threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Restaurants in Wyandotte County and two other nearby counties will be closed to in-restaurant dining through April 1, while they will remain open for takeout food, because of the threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a Unified Government spokesman.

An emergency order was issued today by Dr. Allen Greiner, chief medical officer of Wyandotte County, according to David Reno, spokesman for the Unified Government.

Reno said the administrators of four local governments got together and decided to simultaneously issue emergency orders that will close restaurants, bars, taverns, clubs, casinos and movie theaters as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, March 17. After midnight tonight, the establishments will be closed until April 1, when the need for the order will be looked at again, according to the order.

Besides Wyandotte County, the local governments include Johnson County, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Jackson County, Missouri. Reno said Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor David Alvey has been highly involved in the decision-making process here.

“These measures are being taken with the intent of slowing the transmission of COVID-19 in an effort to increase public safety,” Reno said. “What we don’t want happening is COVID-19 to start exploding all over Wyandotte County, Johnson County, Jackson County or Kansas City, Missouri. Then our providers would become overwhelmed and people would not be able to receive the treatment they need. This is about slowing that transmission.”

According to the emergency order, restaurants and establishments may continue to offer “carryout, drive-through and delivery food and beverage services.”

The establishments must follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, and other public health officials’ guidance for social distancing and infection control measures, according to the order.

The emergency order also stated that all large public gatherings of people in the county are prohibited, and that is defined as more than 10 people in attendance or anticipated to attend, both indoor and outdoor meetings.

There are exceptions to the gathering rule, and the exceptions include “governmental and judicial functions, healthcare facilities, private business operations, religious and faith-based activities, weddings and funerals.”

“A ‘gathering’ does not include normal operations at spaces where persons may be in transit or coming and going individually or in groups of less than 10 persons,” the order stated.

While the emergency order restricts gatherings at restaurants, it does not close a retail store such as Walmart or Nebraska Furniture Mart, Reno said. Also, grocery stores are not affected, he said. Industrial plants are not affected.

Residents can continue to use local restaurants through carryout, delivery and drive-through services, he said.

AG: Open meeting requirements remain in effect amid COVID-19 response

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is offering guidance to state and local governments on how to comply with the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA) if in-person meetings of any public body are replaced with remote meetings by telephone or other communications equipment amid the developing federal, state and local response to the COVID-19 outbreak.


“Nothing in state law allows for the suspension of the KOMA or its open government requirements,” Schmidt said. “In fact, in times like these, it’s more important than ever to ensure government remains open and accessible so Kansans are able to observe and understand how responses to an emergency situation are being developed.”


Kansas law requires meetings of public bodies be “open to the public.” Ordinarily, that requirement is satisfied by public bodies, such as city or county governing bodies, gathering in a room where members of the public are allowed to enter and observe during the meeting. However, in response to the “social distancing” directives from federal and state authorities that are designed to slow the spread of the virus, some governing bodies are considering replacing in-person meetings with electronic meetings by telephone or other remote communication method to avoid gathering in person.


President Donald Trump this afternoon announced new guidelines for controlling the spread of the virus that discourages gatherings of 10 or more people nationwide. The new recommendation comes after Gov. Laura Kelly today announced an executive order prohibiting gatherings of 50 or more people in Kansas in accordance with recommendations issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sunday evening.


Schmidt pointed out that although remote meetings of public bodies by telephone or otherwise are allowed, those meetings still must remain “open to the public” by allowing the public to observe or hear the meeting. Due to the unprecedented and evolving nature of the current situation, Schmidt said his office is currently drafting a temporary regulation to provide more-specific guidance on how public bodies may comply with KOMA while the state of emergency related to the virus outbreak remains in effect.


While Schmidt’s office drafts the temporary regulation, public bodies and agencies governed by KOMA are directed to Attorney General Opinion No. 2005-3 and Attorney General Opinion 2011-23. These opinions, interpreting the KOMA, concluded that a public body or agency subject to KOMA may conduct meetings through electronic means such as teleconference or videoconference as long as the public body complies with all the requirements of the KOMA, the public receives the required notice of meetings, and the public is allowed to listen to the discussion. These Attorney General Opinions remain in effect for guidance.


A copy of these opinions may be found at https://bit.ly/33kKN2X and http://bit.ly/38QziRL.

Providence Medical Center announces new ‘no visitation’ policy to begin Tuesday

Providence Medical Center has announced a new “no visitation” policy beginning Tuesday to support reducing the community effect of the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a hospital statement today.

The policy will go into effect at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 17, according to the statement.

Visitors may be allowed if they receive administrative approval under certain circumstances, including:

• Visitation of a patient in critical care.

• Visitation of spouse or partner in maternity.

• Patients arriving at the Emergency Department will be allowed to have one visitor accompany them while being evaluated. A second visitor may remain in the waiting room if they pass the screening process.

• Patients arriving for an outpatient procedure or same-day surgery will be allowed to have one visitor accompany them if they pass the screening process.

“At this time, our top priority remains protecting public health and ensuring the safety of our patients, visitors, staff, physicians, volunteers and community,” according to a hospital statement.

Visiting hours end at 6:30 p.m. Monday, and there will be no visiting hours on Tuesday. Friends and relatives may call patients on the telephone.

A Providence spokesman, Sam Allred, said that Providence Medical Center followed the KDHE recommendations on testing following a patient from a nursing home who died at the hospital last Wednesday. Staff were screened according to the state requirements, he said.

While the hospital doesn’t release any information on patients, the state KDHE website showed only one person in Wyandotte County has tested positive for COVID-19, and that was the patient who died last Wednesday, he said. There are no other cases reported in Wyandotte County.

Providence Medical Center now has restricted entry to three entrances, and visitors are being screened upon entry, answering questions, and their temperature is being taken, he said.

The goal is to work to reduce the spread of COVID-19, he said.

Allred said they understand that if a patient is in critical care, his daughter would want to visit, and they will not deny that visit.

Those who would like additional information related to COVID-19, may contact KDHE by calling 1-866-534-3463; visiting www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus; or emailing [email protected].

“We know this policy may be inconvenient. Thank you for your understanding during this challenging time,” a hospital representative stated in the visitation announcement.