Tag: COVID-19

Libraries canceling programs, meetings, mobile library service through March 31

The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library is canceling programs, meetings, outreach, and mobile library service until March 31, according to a news release.

Because of the threat of the COVID-19 as well as cancellation from some speakers and community groups, KCKPL is canceling all meetings, programs, outreach and Mobile Library services immediately until at least March 31, library officials stated.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause,” according to the library’s statement. “We are thinking of the health of all our patrons, partners, students and staff. We are encouraging patrons to access our eCommunity. The library will still be open. You can find more information on our website at https://www.kckpl.org/resources/health/coronavirus.html.”


State price-gouging law now in effect for virus-response supplies, AG says

A Kansas price-gouging law that prohibits profiteering by raising prices on items consumers find necessary because of the COVID-19 virus outbreak is now in effect statewide, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today.

“The Kansas anti-profiteering statute is rarely invoked but is designed to prevent opportunistic greed from overcoming the public need for necessary virus-response products and services during this time of emergency,” Schmidt said in a news release. “We take the law’s requirements seriously and will diligently investigate complaints and vigorously prosecute any violations.”

The law generally prohibits unjustifiably raising prices for goods and services for which consumer demand is likely to increase because of the virus outbreak. A price increase is presumed unjustified if it exceeds by 25 percent or more the price at which the goods or services were available on March 11 or the price for which the same goods or services are available from other sellers in the trade area.

Examples of consumer goods and services governed by the anti-profiteering law include, but are not limited to, food items, sanitary and cleaning supplies such as hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, emergency supplies, medical supplies and services, lodging, and any other property or service for which consumer demand may increase in response to the virus outbreak. The law carries a penalty of up to $10,000 per violation.

The anti-profiteering law, which is enforced by the Attorney General’s Office and county and district attorneys, was triggered Thursday by Gov. Laura Kelly’s declaration of a state of emergency related to the virus outbreak. It will remain in effect through April 11, or until the disaster declaration is lifted, whichever is later. The law was enacted in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and is codified at K.S A. 50-6,106.

Anyone with information about price-gouging in violation of the anti-profiteering law should file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division online at www.InYourCornerKansas.org or call 800-432-2310 to request a paper complaint form be sent by mail.

Kansas reports sixth COVID-19 case

The sixth Kansas COVID-19 case has been reported in Butler County, Kansas, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

A man in his 70s who had traveled outside the United States is a presumptive positive case, with testing sent to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Kansas Health and Environmental Laboratories, according to a KDHE spokesman. The man is now in isolation.

The results will be verified by the CDC lab but will be treated as positive unless determined otherwise, according to the spokesman.

Butler County is adjacent to Sedgwick County. Sedgwick County includes the Wichita area.

KDHE will continue to work with the local health department and CDC to identify and contact people who may have come into contact with the individual while he was infectious, and will monitor those persons for fever and respiratory symptoms, the spokesman stated.

“Kansans should remain vigilant,” Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE secretary said, in a news release. “It’s important to live your lives, but it’s also important to take basic precautions like exercising good hygiene practices. It is up to each of us to do our part.”

People should exercise vigilance when attending large public gatherings, particularly those people over age 60 and those with weakened immune systems or chronic medical conditions. There are mass events guidance documents from the Centers from Disease Control available on KDHE’s website, www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus.

If you have symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath and believe you may have had contact or have had contact with someone with a laboratory confirmed case of COVID-19, stay home and call your healthcare provider, the KDHE spokesman stated.

You may also call the KDHE phone bank at 1-866-534-3463 (1-866-KDHEINF) today Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. For more information about COVID-19, visit KDHE’s website and Frequently Asked Questions at www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus and www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.